Configure a custom scan

Important If a management console is used to administer Sophos Endpoint Security and Control on this computer, it may override any changes you make here.

By default, Sophos Anti-Virus detects and cleans up the following threats during a custom scan:

  • viruses
  • Trojans
  • worms
  • spyware
  • adware and other Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs)
  • rootkits

To configure a custom scan:

  1. On the Home page, under Anti-virus and HIPS, click Scans.
    For information about the Home page, see About the Home page.
  2. In the Available scans list, select the scan you want to edit, and then click Edit.
  3. Click Configure this scan.
  4. Under Scan for, set the options as described below.
    OptionDescription
    Adware and PUAs Adware displays advertising (for example, pop-up messages) that may affect user productivity and system efficiency.

    PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Applications) are not malicious, but are generally considered unsuitable for business networks.
    Suspicious files Suspicious files exhibit a combination of characteristics that are commonly, but not exclusively, found in viruses.
    Rootkits If you are a member of the SophosAdministrator group, scanning for rootkits is always carried out when you run a full computer scan.

    You can also scan for rootkits as part of a custom scan.
  5. Under Other scanning options, set the options as described below.
    OptionDescription
    Scan all files We recommend that you scan all files only during a weekly scan, as scanning all files will affect computer performance adversely.
    Scan inside archive files Turn on this option to scan the contents of archives or compressed files. You need to do this only if you download and distribute such files without extracting the contents.

    We recommend that you leave this option turned off, as it makes scanning significantly slower.

    You will still be protected against any threats in archives or compressed files, as any components of an archive or compressed file that may be malware will be blocked by on-access scanning:

    • When you open a file extracted from the archive file, the extracted file is scanned.
    • Files compressed with dynamic compression utilities such as PKLite, LZEXE, and Diet are scanned.
    Scan system memory Turn on this option to automatically run an hourly background scan that detects malware hiding in the computer's system memory (the memory that is used by the operating system).
    Note This option is available only on 32-bit operating systems.
    Run scan at lower priority On Windows Vista and above, run the custom scan with lower priority so that it has minimal impact on user applications.