Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012

Scan of compound files by File Anti-Virus in Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012

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A common method of concealing viruses is to embed them into compound files, for example archives. To detect viruses that are hidden this way a compound file should be unpacked, that can significantly lower the scan speed.

Installer packages and files containing OLE objects are executed when they are opened, which makes them more dangerous than archives. By disabling archive scans and enabling scans for these file types, you can protect your computer against execution of malicious code and, at the same time, increase the scan speed.

In order to modify the list of scanned compound files:

1. open the main application window
2. on the upper right hand corner of the main application window, click on the Settings button
3. on the upper left hand part of the Settings window, select Protection Center
4. on the left hand part of the Settings window, select the File Anti-Virus component
5. on the right hand part of the Settings window, click on the Settings button in the Security level section
6. on the File Anti-Virus window, go to the Performance tab
7. on the Scan of compound files section check the boxes for the types of compound files to be scanned by File Anti-Virus:
   • Scan archives
   • Scan installation packages
   • Scan embedded OLE objects
8. click the OK button in the File-Anti-Virus window
9. click the OK button in the Settings window
10. close the main application window.

When large compound files are scanned, their preliminary unpacking may require a long time. This term may be reduced if files are scanned in the background. If a malicious object is detected while working with such a file, the application will notify you about it. In order to enable Kaspersky Anti-Virus to unpack large-sized files in the background, perform the following actions:

1. open the main application window
2. on the upper right hand corner of the main application window, click on the Settings button
3. on the upper left hand part of the Settings window, select Protection Center
4. on the left hand part of the Settings window, select the File Anti-Virus component
5. on the right hand part of the Settings window, click on the Settings button in the Security level section
6. on the File Anti-Virus window, go to the Performance tab
7. in the Scan of compound files section, click the Additional button

8. on the Compound files window, check the Extract compound files in the background box
9. specify the Minimum file size in the field

In order to increase the scan speed, you can disable unpacking files sized larger than the specified value. To reduce the delay when accessing compound files, you may disable unpacking the files of a size, which is larger than the specified value.

In order Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 does not unpack large-sized compound files, perform the following actions:

1. check the Do not unpack large compound files box
2. specify the file size in the Maximum file size field
3. click the OK button in the Compound files window
4. click the OK button in the File Anti-Virus window
5. click the OK button in the Settings window
6. close the main application window.

Useful references

How to change security level of File Anti-Virus in Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012?
File Anti-Virus operation algorithm in Kaspersky Lab 2011/2012 products

Applies To:

• Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012