A couple of questions from a new user

[AmyH1974]

I just got the Malwarebytes pro this morning & have a few questions about the scans and schedule scans.

1) I would like to know what the flash scan is & do i need to be running this scan?

2) Would like to know if I have my schedule scans set up the right way?

Here is the way i have my schedule scans set up:

Update Scan

Frequency: Daily

Starting on: 8/22/2012 11:00 Am

Recover if miss by: 23 hour(s)

Repeating Every: 1 Day(s)

The box that i have a check in: Show tooltip balloon after successful update

Quick Scan

Frequency: Daily

Starting on: 8/22/2012 12:00 Pm

Recover if miss by: 23 hour(s)

Repeating Every: 1 Day(s)

The boxes i have placed a check into are: Terminate program when scan completes successful, Remove and quarantine all threats automatically, save log regardless of user settings, restart the computer if required for threat removal.

Full Scan

Frequency: Weekly

Starting on: 8/26/2012 12:00 Pm

Recover if miss by: 23 hour(s)

Repeating Every: 1 week(s)

The boxes i have placed a check into are: Terminate program when scan completes successful, Remove and quarantine all threats automatically, save log regardless of user settings, restart the computer if required for threat removal.

[Firefox]

Quick Scan versus Full Scan

Hello AmyH1974, and welcome to the forums here at Malwarebytes.org

Basically, a quick scan searches in all areas that malware likes to hide. Also, if you run a full scan, some malware has a chance to change itself, so the longer the scan, the longer the malware (if you have this type of malware) has to change.

A full scan will scan everything, and the only thing that a full scan will find that a quick scan will not are already-dead traces of infections that are gone already and items in the system restore area. Items in the system restore area cannot harm your machine unless you use an infected restore point.

Here are some references I found on the forum by Nosirrah, who is the Malwarebytes VP of Research.

Hope this clears things up for you

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?s...ost&p=41633

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?s...st&p=141646

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?s...ost&p=83165

check out the 4th paragraph in this post: http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?s...ost&p=45299

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?s...ost&p=43831

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?s...ost&p=40769

As for the scheduler, I would set it for more than just once a day. I have mine set to update every 1 hours. I have seen the MBAM update happen several times a day, up to 6 or more. I schedule my update to happen at least 30 min. before any scheduled scan so you can make sure you are always scanning with the latest update.

How To Use The New Scheduler

Once you register your full version make sure you schedule your program for automatic updates and scans.....

Have a look at the links below for instructions......

How To Use The New Scheduler (Applicable To Versions 1.51 and above Only)

This video has not been updated yet but it gives you a general idea....

Hope this helps, and should you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks

[AmyH1974]

Thanks i understand it now. The only thing i am afraid of setting my update scan to once a day is we hibernate our computer when not in use, so how would it do the update when it is in hibernate mode. We really do not like our computer running when we are not using it.

[daledoc1]

Hi, AmyH1974:

I hope Firefox will excuse my intrusion on this topic, to add to his excellent, expert advice.

There are also some KB topics you might find helpful, e.g.:

What is the difference between the three scan types in Malwarebytes Anti-Malware?

and many video tutorials on a range of topics, including scheduling scans and updates (I assume at least a few of these might be the same as the ones for which Firefox provided the external links):

Knowledge Base/How-To Videos

These KB topics are fairly new, and many of us old-timers still forget that they are all collected in one handy location that might be particularly useful for newcomers.

HTH,

daledoc1

PS FWIW, I am on the computer a lot when I am home, so I, too, schedule an hourly updates check (even though there won't necessarily be an actual definitions update more than 5 or 6 times per day) with a Flash scan, and a daily Quick Scan. I run Full scans from time to time, but not regularly, for the reasons Firefox explained.

[daledoc1]

Thanks i understand it now. The only thing i am afraid of setting my update scan to once a day is we hibernate our computer when not in use, so how would it do the update when it is in hibernate mode. We really do not like our computer running when we are not using it.

There is a setting in the scheduler to "wake computer from sleep" (see screen grab).

I don't use hibernate, but I assume it will do the same thing for that.

Firefox will know for sure.

OTOH, if you're not on the computer a lot, then updates checks every couple of hours would be fine.

Like Firefox says, you want to try to be sure that your scans are done with the latest definitions.

(You can always run a manual check for updates, too.)

HTH,

daledoc1

[AdvancedSetup]

Your computer needs to fully support wake on event. Our program calls the built in routine to wake the computer to run the task but if something is preventing the computer from sleeping or waking on event calls then this feature will not work for you.

[AmyH1974]

Ok thanks. So what would you recommend to set on then if you are not on the computer all the time? I am a mom to two very active kids & so i am not on the computer very much. There are times i can get on but that changes pretty much every day. I want to keep my computer protected as much as i can. That is why i thought update it daily instead of hourly.

[AmyH1974]

Forgot to mention what does the recover if miss by mean! Does it mean if you have it set to recover if missed by 1 hour that it will run the scan a hour later if it is missed that day or does it mean something else?

[exile360]

Forgot to mention what does the recover if miss by mean! Does it mean if you have it set to recover if missed by 1 hour that it will run the scan a hour later if it is missed that day or does it mean something else?

The Recover if missed by setting will set the scheduler to attempt to launch the scheduled task if it was missed at any point that the computer is running if it is within the time that Recover if missed by is set to.

Basically, if you set your scheduled task to run at 4:00PM and set Recover if missed by to 1 hour and your computer is off at 4:00PM, then the next time your computer boots up, as long as it is any time between 4:00PM and 5:00PM, then the scheduled task will run.

[AmyH1974]

Ok Thanks for the help!

[AdvancedSetup]

Basically the way you have the scans setup are probably just fine except you may want to edit this update one to have it check more often is all. Then once set for the most part it should be set it and forget it.

You have:

Update Scan

Frequency: Daily

Starting on: 8/22/2012 11:00 Am

Recover if miss by: 23 hour(s)

Repeating Every: 1 Day(s)

The box that i have a check in: Show tooltip balloon after successful update

I would recommend change to:

Update Scan

Frequency: Hourly

Starting on: 8/22/2012 11:00 Am

Recover if miss by: 3 hour(s)

Repeating Every: 4 hours

The box that i have a check in: Show tooltip balloon after successful update

[AmyH1974]

Thanks, I will set my update to that then. Thanks very much for the help!

[AdvancedSetup]

You're quite welcome and if you do need further assistance please let us know.

Take care