Avira User Manual

Avira Mac Security 

User Manual

Table of Contents 

Introduction 

1. Introduction .................................................................................... 5 

1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5 

1.1.1 About Avira Mac Security .......................................................................................................................... 5 

1.2 System Requirements ............................................................................................................. 5 

1.3 Delivery Scope ......................................................................................................................... 5 

1.4 Support ..................................................................................................................................... 6 

1.5 Menu Bar Overview ................................................................................................................. 7 

1.6 The Avira Logo ......................................................................................................................... 8 

1.6.1 The Avira Logo in the Dock ...................................................................................................................... 8 

1.6.2 Variations of the Avira Logo in the Dock .............................................................................................. 9 

1.6.3 The Avira Logo in the menu bar .............................................................................................................. 9 

1.7 Shortcuts ................................................................................................................................. 10 

1.8 Sidebar .................................................................................................................................... 10 

2. Installation .................................................................................... 12 

2.1 Installation .............................................................................................................................. 12 

2.2 The Installer ............................................................................................................................ 12 

2.3 Software License Agreement ................................................................................................ 13 

2.4 Destination Select .................................................................................................................. 13 

2.5 Installation Progress .............................................................................................................. 14 

2.6 Installation Type ..................................................................................................................... 14 

2.7 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 14 

2.8 Security Status Check ........................................................................................................... 14 

2.9 Uninstalling Avira Mac Security ............................................................................................ 15 

2.10 Management of Your Mac by AMC ...................................................................................... 16 

2.10.1 Security policy enforced by AMC .......................................................................................................... 16 

3. Status overview ............................................................................. 18 

3.1 Status Window Overview ...................................................................................................... 18 

3.2 Quick Scan ............................................................................................................................. 18 

3.3 Full System Scan ................................................................................................................... 19 

Avira Mac Security - User Manual (Status: 29. 05. 2012) 2

Introduction 

3.4 Your Mac is Protected ........................................................................................................... 20 

3.5 Your Mac is not Protected ..................................................................................................... 21 

3.6 Secure My Mac Now ............................................................................................................. 22 

3.7 One Click Repair .................................................................................................................... 23 

4. Scan for Viruses ............................................................................ 24 

4.1 Scanning for Viruses ............................................................................................................. 24 

4.2 Scanning Most Vulnerable Parts of the System ................................................................. 24 

4.3 Scanning the Whole System ................................................................................................ 25 

4.4 Scanning Selected Files and Folders .................................................................................. 26 

4.5 Scan Using Drag & Drop ....................................................................................................... 27 

4.6 Treating Viruses and Malware .............................................................................................. 28 

4.7 Treating Detections ................................................................................................................ 28 

4.7.1 Real-Time Protection has detected viruses ....................................................................................... 28 

4.8 Updating ................................................................................................................................. 29 

5. Scheduler ..................................................................................... 31 

5.1 Scheduling Scans And Updates ........................................................................................... 31 

5.2 Scheduling Scans .................................................................................................................. 31 

5.3 Scheduling Updates .............................................................................................................. 32 

6. Quarantine and Logs ...................................................................... 34 

6.1 Quarantine .............................................................................................................................. 34 

6.2 Logs ........................................................................................................................................ 35 

7. Preferences .................................................................................. 38 

7.1 Preferences Overview ........................................................................................................... 38 

7.2 General ................................................................................................................................... 39 

7.2.1 Basic Settings ............................................................................................................................................. 39 

7.2.2 Logging .......................................................................................................................................................... 39 

7.3 Virus Scan .............................................................................................................................. 39 


7.4 Heuristic Detection ................................................................................................................. 41 

7.5 Threat Categories .................................................................................................................. 41 

7.6 Real-Time Protection ............................................................................................................. 43 


Introduction 


7.6.2 Detection ....................................................................................................................................................... 45 

7.7 Heuristic Detection ................................................................................................................. 45 

7.8 Threat Categories .................................................................................................................. 46 


1. Introduction 

1.1 Introduction 

1.1.1 About Avira Mac Security 

Avira products are comprehensive and flexible tools you can rely on to protect your Mac 

from viruses, malware, unwanted applications and other dangers. Loss of valuable data 

usually has dramatic consequences. Even the best virus protection program cannot 

provide one hundred percent protection from data loss. Perform regular backups of your 

data for security purposes by setting up your Mac Time Machine. 

Introduction 

A software can only provide reliable and effective protection from viruses, malware, 

unwanted applications and other dangers if it is up-to-date. Make sure your Avira product 

is up-to-date with automatic updates. Set the preferences of the program accordingly. 

(Choose Menu bar > Avira > Preferences, or, Control-click the Avira logo in the Dock or 

in the menu bar while the application is already running and select Open Preferences.) 

How to get started 

To install Avira Mac Security, download the security package from the Avira website, then 

follow the onscreen instructions. 

For additional information or help, click the Help button. 

The Avira Help Center will open (Welcome to our help center). Select your topic 

from the Table of Contents, click a menu item in the list or type a keyword in the 

search field. 

1.2 System Requirements 

• CPU: Minimum 64 bit Intel Core 2 Duo (Your Avira product does not support Intel Core 

Solo / Intel Core Duo because of their 32 bit-system) 

• At least 2 Gigabyte RAM 

• At least 200 MB of free hard disk memory space 

• Minimum system requirements: Version 10.6 or later 

• The application does not support Mac OS X Server version 

• Functioning Internet connection where appropriate (see Installation) 

1.3 Delivery Scope 

Your Avira product, delivered as 64 bit package (.pkg), has the following functions: 


• Event center for monitoring, managing and controlling the entire program 

• Central preferences 

• Event database (Logs) 

• Real-Time Protection scanner for continuous monitoring of all file access attempts 

• System scanner for configurable search for all known types of viruses and malware 

Introduction 

• Integrated scheduler for planning recurring jobs such as updates or scanning processes 

• Integrated quarantine management to isolate and process suspicious files 

• Extremely high virus and malware detection via innovative scanning technology (scan 

engine) including heuristic scanning method 

As an entitiy, the System Scanner searches for viruses in files and folders and writes 

the results back to the Graphical User Interface. As a daemon the Real-Time 

Protection works in the background, monitors all file access attempts and blocks the 

access to infected files. 

• Detection of all conventional archive types including detection of nested archives and 

smart extension detection 

1.4 Support 

Contact Address 

If you have any questions or requests concerning the Avira product range, we will be 

pleased to help you. For our contact addresses, please refer to the menu bar Help > Avira 

Support. 

Technical Support 

Avira support provides reliable assistance in answering your questions or solving a 

technical problem. All necessary information on our comprehensive support can be 

obtained from our website: 

http://www.avira.com/professional-support 

Suspicious File 

Viruses that may not yet be detected or removed by our products or suspect files can be 

sent to us. We provide you with several ways of doing this. 

• Click the checkbox of the identified file in the table of the Quarantine tab. Select Send 

file to Avira from the Action for selected item menu. Click Apply to open the upload 

form. The path of the file you like to send is written automatically to the subject line of 

the sending form. Fill in the required fields and click Upload to send us the suspicious 

file. 


Introduction 

• Send the required file packed (WinZIP, PKZip, Arj etc.) as attachment of an email to the 

following address: 

virus@avira.com 

Note 

As some email gateways work with anti-virus software, you should also provide 

the file(s) with a password (please remember to tell us the password). 

• You may also send us the suspicious file via our website: 

http://www.avira.com/sample-upload 

Reporting False Positives 

If you believe that your Avira product is reporting a detection in a file that is most likely 

"clean", send the relevant file packed (WinZIP, PKZip, Arj etc.) as an email attachment to 

the following address: 

virus@avira.com 

Your Feedback 

At Avira, our customers' security is paramount. For this reason, we don't just have an inhouse 

expert team that tests the quality and security of every Avira solution before it is 

released. We also attach great importance to the indications regarding security relevant 

gaps that could develop and we treat those seriously. If you think you have detected a 

security gap in one of our products, please send us an email to the following address: 

vulnerabilities@avira.com 

1.5 Menu Bar Overview 

Avira 

• About Avira: Opens a sheet with product and version information as well as the 

copyright notice. 

• Provide Feedback: Opens the Avira website where you may enter your feedback to 

help us make improvements. 

• Preferences: Opens the Preferences window where you may fine-tune some 

configuration settings of your Avira product. 

• Services, No Services Apply, Services Preferences: Opens the Services submenu 

with the Keyboard Shortcut preferences. 

• Hide Avira: Hides all of the windows of the currently running Avira application and 

brings the most recently used application to the foreground. 

• Hide Others: Hides the windows of all the other applications currently running. 


• Show All: Shows all windows of all currently running applications. 

• Quit Avira: Quits the Avira application. 

Help 

• Search: The Spotlight For Help search field where you may enter a keyword. 

Introduction 

• Avira Help: Opens the Help Viewer to the first page of Avira's help book (Introduction). 

• Download Manual: When connected to the Internet you may download the most recent 

user manual from the Avira website (http://www.avira.com/documentation). 

• Avira Knowledge Base: Opens the comprehensive knowledge database 

(http://www.avira.com/support). 

• Avira Support Forum: Opens the free platform for help with technical problems 

(http://forum.avira.com). 

• Avira Support: Opens the Avira Customer Service and Support website 

(http://www.avira.com/support). 

1.6 The Avira Logo 

The Avira Logo is placed in the Dock and in the menu bar. 

1.6.1 The Avira Logo in the Dock 

Click the Logo to open your Avira application window. 

The running indicator below the Dock icon illustrates that the application is 

active. 

Control-click or right-click the Avira Logo to open the shortcut menu. 

Items of the shortcut menu 

• Last Update: The date of the last successful detection update. 

• Open Avira: Opens the main Status window of the application. 

• Open Preferences: Opens the Preferences window. 

• Update Detection: Updates the scan engine and the virus definition file in the 

background. 

• Perform Quick Scan: Triggers a quick scan of the most endangered parts of your Mac. 

• Go to Avira Website: Opens the Avira website (http://www.avira.com). 

• Options 

� Keep in Dock: Keeps the Avira Logo in the Dock. 

� Open at Login: Opens the Avira application when you log in. 


� Show in Finder: Shows your Avira product in the Applications list of the Finder 

window. 

• Hide/Show: Hides or shows the Avira application window while Avira Mac Security is 

active. 

• Quit: Quits the application. The running indicator below the Avira Logo in the Dock is 

turned off. 

1.6.2 Variations of the Avira Logo in the Dock 

Icon Description 

Real-Time Protection scanner is running 

Real-Time Protection scanner is not running 

Alert, virus detection 

Information available 

Scheduled scan 

Scheduled update 

Note 

A bouncing Avira Logo indicates that the product is performing a scan, an 

update or other scheduled tasks. 

1.6.3 The Avira Logo in the menu bar 

Click, Control-click or right-click the Avira Logo to open the shortcut menu. 

Introduction 


Icon Description 

Items of the shortcut menu 

Real-Time Protection scanner is running 

Real-Time Protection scanner is not running 

• Open Avira: Opens the main Status window of the application. 

• Open Preferences: Opens the Preferences window. 

• Update Detection: Updates the scan engine and the virus definition file in the 

background. 

Introduction 

• Perform Quick Scan: Triggers a quick scan of the most vulnerable parts of your Mac. 

• Go to Avira Website: Opens the Avira website (http://www.avira.com). 

1.7 Shortcuts 

Keyboard commands - also called shortcuts - offer a fast possibility to navigate through the 

application. 

Shortcut Description 

cmd + ? Open Avira Help 

cmd + , Open the Preferences 

cmd + H Hide Avira 

alt + cmd + H Hide Others 

cmd + Q Quit Avira 

1.8 Sidebar 

The Avira sidebar provides the following entries: 


Status 

One click opens the main Status window of the application that shows at a glance 

whether your Mac is protected or not. 

Scheduler 

Opens the window for scheduled scan and update jobs. 

Quarantine & Logs 

Opens the quarantine manager and the event database with its logged reports. 

Actions 

Introduction 

The Actions section of the sidebar offers the possibility to initiate an on-demand scan 

process. Furthermore you may execute an update job from here. 

Scan for Viruses 

Update 

Opens the dialog for initiating an on-demand scan for viruses. 

Opens the dialog for triggering an update immediately. 


2. Installation 

2.1 Installation 

Download 

You find the most recent version of Avira Mac Security on the Avira website. 

Avira Mac Security is available as a 64 Bit package. 

Download the package to a selected destination. 

You may install the software package on your Mac with the help of the Installer 

wizard. 

The wizard will lead you step-by-step through the installation. 

Alternatively, you may install the program via the command line: 

After download, login as root. Select the directory where the package is saved. 

Example: 

cd /tmp/avira_mac_security.pkg 

Enter the following: 

sudo installer -pkg ./avira_mac_security.pkg -target / 

You receive the answer: installer: The install was successful. 

2.2 The Installer 

After the download from the Avira website the Installer will help you to install Avira Mac 

Security. 

If you have saved the package on your desktop or in a Finder window, double-click 

the parcel icon. 

The Welcome screen of the Installer opens. 

Follow the onscreen instructions of the Installer. 

The installation steps are listed on the left-hand side: 

Introduction 

License 

Destination Select 

Installation Type 

Installation 

Summary 

Click Continue to start the installation. 

Installation 


The End User License Agreement dialog opens. 

In order to execute Avira Mac Security you have to agree to the terms and 

conditions of this software license agreement. 

Installation 

You can save or print out the End User License Agreement (EULA) before you 

continue with the installation program (http://www.avira.com/en/license-agreement). 

Click Agree to continue or click Disagree to cancel the installation and quit the 

Installer. 

Click Continue to proceed. 

The next step provides information about standard installation which will take 

about 200 MB of space on your Mac. 

You may change the install location for your anti-virus software. 

Click Change Install Location ...to select a different location and click Continue to 

proceed. 

Click Install to perform a standard installation of Avira Mac Security for all users of 

this computer. 

Type your password to continue the installation process. 

Note 

You must be logged in with an administrator account to complete the 

installation. 

After installation, the Summary window provides information if the installation 

has been completed successfully. The installer has finished its task. 

Click Close to exit the installation window. 

After installation, your Avira Mac Security software will perform a first Security 

Status Check. 

2.3 Software License Agreement 

Please select a language from the menu list in the Software License Agreement window. 

Click Continue to proceed. The license sheet opens. Click Agree to continue or click 

Disagree to cancel the installation and quit the installer. 

You can find the End-User License Agreement (EULA) also as .pdf file on our website: 

(http://www.avira.com/en/license-agreement). 

2.4 Destination Select 

The Installer will find automatically an appropriate destination on the disk "Macintosh HD". 

If you want to change the standard install location, click Change Install Location ... 


Select a different location for installation and click Continue. 

The installation process keeps going. 

2.5 Installation Progress 

The installation of Avira Mac Security will take a few minutes. The progress indicator 

displays the installation process as a blue moving bar. 

2.6 Installation Type 

The standard installation of Avira Mac Security on your Mac will take about 200 MB of 

space. 

You will be asked to enter your Mac password with administrative rights in order to 

allow the Installer to make any changes. 

Installation 

The installation progress is displayed by the progress indicator as a moving blue 

bar. 

Click Install to perform a standard installation of Avira Mac Security for all users of 

this Mac. 

All users will be able to benefit from this anti-virus software. 

The Installer displays the final installation information: The installation was 

successfull. 

Click Close to quit the installation program. 

2.7 Summary 

Avira Mac Security will start automatically and performs a first scan for malware. 

After installation the Summary screen provides information if the installation was 

completed successfully. The Installer has finished its job. 

Click Close to exit the installation window. 

After installation, your Avira Mac Security software starts automatically and 

executes a first security check. 

The Status window opens. 

2.8 Security Status Check 

After successful installation, your Avira Mac Security will automatically check the security 

status of your Mac. This check includes a quick scan for viruses on most vulnerable parts 

of your system. Detected viruses will be automatically moved to quarantine to prevent any 

damage to your Mac. This first check includes also a fast lookup for updates of the virus 

definition file and the scan engine. 


The Security Status Check window displays the results of the check. 

Installation 

Step 4 of 4: Finished. The check for security risks and the lookup for updates are 

completed. 

• Detection Update: successfully finished 

For more information click the Show Details link. 

The Detection Update Statistics pane shows the amount of downloaded MB and 

the time elapsed. 

• System Scan: successfully finished 

For more information click the link Show Details. 

The Scan Statistics pane displays the number of found viruses and the time 

elapsed. 

• Untreated Viruses: none 


The Treated Viruses Statistics pane displays the number of treated alerts and the 

elapsed time. 

• Scheduled updates activation: already turned on. 

To return to the main Status window of the event center, click OK. 

2.9 Uninstalling Avira Mac Security 

Drag the Avira product from the Finder's Applications folder to the Trash, or Controlclick 

the application in the Finder's Applications folder and choose Move to Trash. 

Note 

You must be logged in with an administrator account for the Move to Trash. 

Once you have moved the Avira logo to Trash, the application is uninstalled. The 

uninstallation process cannot be cancelled. You cannot restore the application to 

its original location, but you may install the product again. 

If there are quarantined files, choose if you want to delete those files. Click Yes or 

No to continue. 

As an experienced user, you may want to have a look at the quarantine directory via 

the terminal. Login as root and enter the following: 

cd /var/lib/com.avira.antivirus.avqmd/quarantine/virus/ 

The removed components of the application are shown during the uninstall 

process. 

The wizard displays You have successfully uninstalled Avira. 

Click Close to quit the wizard. 


Alternatively, you may uninstall the program via the command line: 

Login as root. Select the directory where the package is saved. Example: 

cd /tmp/avira_mac_security.pkg 

Enter the following: 

sudo sh /Applications/Utilities/Avirauninstall.app/Contents/MacOS/uninstall 

and press Enter. 

You receive the answer: You have successfully uninstalled Avira. 

2.10 Management of Your Mac by AMC 

Installation 

The security of your Mac in a network environment can be managed by the Avira 

Management Console (AMC), namely: the remote installation, configuration, updating and 

uninstallation of the Avira security software, as well as the scanning behavior. 

To manage Avira Mac Security via AMC, you need the AMC Agent for Mac and a license 

file, that is sent to you upon request. 

The AMC Agent is installed on the Mac client separately via AMC, when you integrate the 

client into the AMC Security Environment (the network managed by Avira Management 

Console). For details on using the Avira Management Console, read the User Guide under 

http://www.avira.com/documents/products. 

2.10.1 Security policy enforced by AMC 

Avira Management Console defines and enforces the security policy over the managed 

network. The security policy covers the configuration, the update mechanisms and the 

scanning behavior of the managed clients. 

A Mac client managed via AMC cannot change the configuration inherited from AMC. 

Moreover, the AMC defines which files are updated by a managed client, when and from 

which source. The Management Console also defines what a managed client scans, when 

it scans and how it treats suspicious files. 

By default, the Avira Management Console restricts the following features of Avira 

Mac Security, on managed Mac clients: 

• Changing the configuration: Preferences are disabled and a tooltip indicates it is an 

AMC-managed environment. 

• Configuring scheduled scans and updates: Scheduler is disabled and a tooltip 

indicates it is an AMC-managed environment. 

• Performing manual updates: Update is disabled and a tooltip indicates it is an AMCmanaged 

environment. 


Installation 

• One Click Repair: One Click Repair is disabled. The security of the managed clients is 

monitored by the AMC, which makes sure that the clients are secure at all times. 

The following operations may still be performed locally, on managed Mac clients, as 

long as your AMC configuration allows it: 

• Manual scans: 

� Performing Quick scan and Full system scan, from the Status window 

� Using all scan profiles in Scan for Viruses 

� Scanning from the Finder 

• Accessing Quarantine & Logs: 

� Rescan 

� Send file to Avira 

� The Delete and Restore actions are only available to administrator users, upon 

authentication. 


3. Status overview 

3.1 Status Window Overview 

Status overview 

The Status window is an information, event and control center. In addition to the sidebar 

sections that can be selected individually, it offers a number of options that can be 

accessed also from the Mac menu bar. 

To open the Status window of the event center, click the Avira Logo in the Dock. Or 

click the Logo in the menu bar and choose Open Avira from the shortcut menu. 

The Status window enables you to see at a glance whether your Mac is protected and 

displays the period of time since your last search for malware. If your Mac is protected, 

you may launch a scan process from the Status window by a single click. 

You may see more details on your security status by clicking the Show Details link. 

To select between a Quick scan and Full system scan, click the default button. 

Turn on Quick scan for a virus scan on endangered parts of your Mac, or turn on 

Full system scan for malware scanning of the whole system. 

To turn on a security check immediately, click Scan Now. 

The scanning process is displayed by the blue moving indicator. 

The result window will show the duration of the scan, the files looked-up and the 

number of viruses found. 

To pause the running scan process, click Pause. 

To stop and abort the scan, click Cancel. 

3.2 Quick Scan 

You should regularly search for viruses. Avira Mac Security reminds you if you did not 

trigger a scan for viruses yet: 

Your last scan was performed day(s) ago is displayed on the main Status 

window of the event center. 

How to trigger a Quick scan: 

Turn on Quick scan in the Status window of the event center by the default button, 

and click Scan Now for a search on most vulnerable parts of your system. 

Your Avira product will scan the content of the user's container. The blue moving 

indicator shows the scanning progress. 



During the Scan in progress process, the path of the file currently scanned is displayed. 

Additionally, the number of detected risks and of scanned files is shown. In addition to the 

blue progress indicator, the elapsed scan time is displayed as . 

You may pause and resume the scanning process. The time recording continues 

counting. 

The result of the Quick scan is shown in the Scan Finished window. The number of 

detected risks as well as statistics about the duration of the scanning process 

in:"hh:mm:ss" and the number of Files and folders scanned: files are displayed. 

To return to the Status window, click OK. 

The green square icon with the white check mark signifies that your Mac is 

protected. 

To react on detected risks or malware, click Treat Alerts. 

The Detections window opens. (Treating Viruses and Malware). 

3.3 Full System Scan 

You should regularly search for viruses. Avira Mac Security reminds you if you did not 

trigger a scan for viruses yet: 

Your last scan was performed day(s) ago is displayed on the main Status 

window of the event center. 

How to trigger a Full system scan: 

Turn on Full system scan in the Status window of the event center by the default 

button and click Scan Now to search the whole system with all files, directories and 

subdirectories. 

Your Avira product will scan your entire system. The blue moving indicator shows 

the scanning progress. 

If you want to pause the scan process, click Pause. 

To continue, click Resume. 

To abort the search for malware, click Cancel. 

You will be asked if you want to stop the scanning process. Click OK to confirm 

the abort. 

During scan process the name and the number of files scanned as well as the elapsed 

scan time are displayed. 

The Detections window displays the malware found. 

If you have turned on the option Treat each detection separately (choose Avira > 

Preferences > Virus Scan), Avira Mac Security provides information about all detected 

malware, the duration of the scan and the number of files that were scanned. 


To react on detected malware, click Treat Alerts. 

The Detections window opens. 

The malware found is listed in a table with the following information: 

Date: The exact time of the detection. 

Name: The name of the malware. 

Type: The type of the malware as virus or unwanted program. 

File: The path of the file that carries the malware. 

To select a file for further treatment, click the checkbox at the end of the row. You 

may select all files, by clicking the Select All button. 

Select an option from the menu I want selected viruses to be ... and click Apply 

Now to start the selected action. 

You may execute the following actions: 

moved to quarantine: The infected file is sent to the quarantine directory. 

deleted: The infected file is irrevocably deleted. 


renamed: The infected file is renamed by the scanner to a harmless .xxx file. Direct 

access to these files, for example by a double-click, is therefore no longer possible. 

ignored until next detection update: The infected file is treated as white-listed until 

the next virus definition file update, then it will be scanned again. 

To leave the Detections window, click OK. You may initialize another scanning process 

from the What would you like to scan? window. 

3.4 Your Mac is Protected 

Although your Mac is protected, you should regularly search for viruses. 

Click the Show Details link in the main Status window of the event center, close to 

the Help button, to open the panes of the Status and Statistics tabs to check that 

your Avira system is up-to-date, Real-Time Protection is turned on and there are no 

untreated viruses. 

Click the Hide Details link, to hide the Status and Statistics tabs. 

The Status tab 

The pane of the Status tab provides information whether your Avira system is kept up-todate 

and if Real-Time Protection is turned on. Furthermore you get to know whether all 

detected risks are treated. 

• Real-Time Protection is turned on: The on-access protection is activated. 

• Detection is up-to-date: The Virus Definition File and the search engine are up-to-date. 


• Scheduled updates are turned on: The default scheduled updates are activated. 

• No untreated viruses: All viruses are in quarantine or are deleted. 

The Statistics tab 


The pane of the Statistics tab shows the results of the last scan and update processes. 

• Last virus found: The name and the path of detected viruses. 

• Last successful update: The last successful update method. 

• Your current engine version: The version number of the current scan engine. 

• Your current detection version: The version number of the current virus definition file. 

3.5 Your Mac is not Protected 

If your Mac is not protected and you want to get more information about security risks 

before fixing the problem by a single click on the button Secure My Mac Now: 

Click Show Details to receive detailed information about current risks. 

More information is displayed on the panes of the two tabs: Status and Statistics. 

Click Hide Details to close the Status and Statistics tabs. 

The Status tab 

The pane of the Status tab provides information whether your Avira system is kept up to 

date and if Real-Time Protection is turned on. Furthermore you get to know if all detected 

viruses are treated. 

• Real-Time Protection is turned off / turned on 

• Last update is older than the configured update schedule / Detection is up to date 

• Scheduled updates are turned off / on 

• Detected viruses have not been treated yet / No untreated viruses 

The Statistics tab 

The pane of the Statistics tab shows the results of the last scan and update processes. 

• Last virus found: The path and the name of the last detected virus. 

• Last successful update: The last successful update method. 

• Engine version: The version number of the current scan engine. 

• VDF version: The version number of the current virus definition file. 


3.6 Secure My Mac Now 


If your Mac is not protected, the most convenient way to solve any kind of security risks is 

to simply use the one-click repair button Secure My Mac Now. 

Depending on the reason for the risk the One Click Repair feature of Avira Mac Security 

gives back the following results: 

All the security risks were fixed successfully 

The maximal number of responses of the Avira Repair feature will be four out of four. 

• Step 4 of 4: Finished 

• Real-Time Protection check: already activated 

• Detection Update: successfully finished 




• Performing quick scan: successfully finished 

For more information click the Show Details link. 

The Scanned Statistics pane displays the number of found viruses and the time 

elapsed. 

• Untreated Viruses: successfully finished 


The Treatment Statistics pane displays the number of treated alerts and the 

elapsed time. 

To return to the main Status window, click OK. 

If you don't use the one-click repair button Secure My Mac Now, perform the following 

actions: 

If Real-Time Protection is turned off, click Turn Real-Time Protection On in the 

pane of the Status tab. 

If your system is not up-to-date, click Update Detection in the pane of the Status 

tab. 

If Scheduled updates are turned off, click Activate Now in the pane of the Status 

tab. 

If detected viruses have not been treated yet, click Treat Now in the pane of the 

Status tab. 



3.7 One Click Repair 

The One Click Repair window is the result window of the Secure My Mac Now action: 

All the security risks have been fixed successfully. 

Note 

If your Mac is managed by the Avira Management Console, One Click Repair 

is disabled. The security of the managed clients is monitored by the AMC, which 

makes sure that the clients are secure at all times. 

The maximal number of responses of your Avira application will be four out of four. 

• Step 4 of 4: Finished 

• Detection update: successfully finished 





• System scan: successfully finished 


The Scan Statistics pane displays the number of found viruses and the time 

elapsed. 

• Untreated Viruses: successfully finished 


The Treated Viruses Statistics pane displays the number of treated alerts and the 

elapsed time. 

• Scheduled updates activation: already activated 


If there are no risks left to be fixed, the system gives back the answer No Tasks to 

Perform. 


4. Scan for Viruses 

4.1 Scanning for Viruses 


Choose Actions > Scan for Viruses from the sidebar, to trigger off a virus search. The 

What would you like to scan? window opens. Select one of the following scan profiles and 

click Scan Now to start the scanning process: 

Quick scan 

Scans the most critical and vulnerable areas of your Mac. 

Full system scan 

Scans the complete Mac system. 

Custom scan 

Scans files and folders which you select manually. 

4.2 Scanning Most Vulnerable Parts of the System 

Choose Scan for Viruses from the sidebar and select Quick scan for an on-demand scan 

of most vulnerable parts of your system as the main user's container and its subsets. 

Choose this option for a fast scan. 

To start the scanning process, click Scan Now. 

By default, the details of the files and folders currently scanned are displayed in the Scan 

in progress window. 

To pause the virus scan, click Pause. 

To continue the search process, click Resume. 

Click Cancel to stop the scanning process. 

After the scan has finished, Avira Mac Security provides information about detected 

malware, the duration of the scan and the number of files that were scanned. 



To move back to another search for viruses, click OK. 

The What would you like to scan? window opens. 



If you have turned on Treat each detection separately (choose Avira > Preferences > 

Virus Scan) the malware found is listed in a table with the following information: 

Date: The exact time and day of the detection. 


Type: The type of the malware, as viruses or unwanted programs. 

File: The path of the file that contains the malware. 


may select all files by clicking the Select All button. 

Select an action from the menu I want selected viruses to be... and click Apply 

Now to start the selected action. 

You may select the following actions: 




access to these files, for example by a click, is therefore no longer possible. 



To leave the Detections window, click OK. You may initialize another scanning process 

from the What would you like to scan? window. 

4.3 Scanning the Whole System 

Choose Scan for Viruses from the sidebar and select Full system scan for an ondemand 

scan on all files, directories and subdirectories. 

To start the scan, click Scan Now. 

The blue moving indicator shows the scanning progress. 

If you want to pause the scanning process, click Pause. 

To continue, click Resume. 

To abort the search for malware, click Cancel. 

The Scan Finished window will be displayed, showing an error message and a 

warning notification that the scan job is incomplete. 

Click OK to return to the What would you like to scan? window. 

During search process the number of files scanned as well as the elapsed search time are 

displayed. If Avira Mac Security detects malware, it is shown by the window Detections. 




Virus Scan), your Avira product provides information about detected malware, the 

duration of the search and the number of files that were scanned. 

If infected files are detected, the Detections window displays the malware found. 




Date: The exact time and day of the detection. 




Select an option from the menu I want the selected detections to be ... and click 

Apply Now to start the selected action. 








To leave the Detections window, click OK. 

You may initialize another scanning process from the What would you like to scan? 

window. 

4.4 Scanning Selected Files and Folders 

If you turn on Custom scan as an on-demand Scan for Viruses, you have to choose the 

location to be scanned manually. 

To select files or paths, click Scan Now. 

The column view of the Finder window opens. 

Select at least one file or folder and click Open to start the search process. 

The scanning process is displayed by the progress indicator as a blue moving 

bar. 

To abort the selection, click Cancel. 




Virus Scan), Avira Mac Security provides information about the duration of the search, the 

number of files that were scanned and detected malware. 




Date: The exact time and the day of the detection. 





may select all files by clicking the Select All button. 

Select an action from the menu I want the selected detections to be ... and click 





rename: The infected file is renamed by the scanner to a harmless .xxx file. Direct 




To leave the Detections window, click OK. 

You may initialize another scanning process from the What would you like to scan? 

window. 

4.5 Scan Using Drag & Drop 

You may scan for viruses and malware using drag & drop. 

Drag an item from your desktop or from the Finder and drop it to the Avira Logo in 

the Dock. 

The Real-Time Protection scans the item and displays the results in the Scan 

finished window. 

The bouncing Avira Logo in the Dock indicates the end of the scanning process. 

If viruses are detected, click the link Treat Alerts. 


To close the result window, click OK or use the red close button of the title bar. 


4.6 Treating Viruses and Malware 


After you have triggered a search for viruses manually, Avira demonstrates if your Mac is 

protected or not. The Scan Finished window shows that detected viruses have not been 

treated yet. 

Click Treat Alerts. 



Virus Scan), Avira Mac Security provides information about the duration of the search, the 

number of files that were scanned and detected malware. 

Detected viruses and malware are displayed in a table, sorted by Date, Name, Type and 

File. 

Date: The exact time of the detection. 


Type: The assumed type of the malware as virus or unwanted program. 

File: The path of the file that carries the malware. 

To select a file for further treatment, click the checkbox at the end of the row. 

Select an option from the menu I want the selected detections to be ... and click 






access to these files, for example by a click, is therefore no longer possible. 


the next virus definition file update. 

4.7 Treating Detections 

4.7.1 Real-Time Protection has detected viruses 

If the continuously monitoring Real-Time Protection scanner detects malware of any kind, 

the Real-Time Protection results window opens. The message Security Risk Detected is 

displayed and the following detailed information is listed: 

• Number of Detected Viruses: The total number of detected viruses 

• Date / Time: The day and the exact time of the detection 


There are two possibilities to treat the infected item: 

• I want to use the default action (Quarantine) 

• I want to use a different action (requires administrative rights) 

To select one of the two available actions on detection, click the appropriate radio 

button. The default value is "Quarantine". 

Note 

If you want to select a different action than the default one, you have to be 

logged in with an administrator account. 

Click OK to assume your selection. 

The Detections window opens and displays the detected viruses. 

If you have chosen a different action than the default one, the infected item is 

scanned again and treated the way you have selected. 


The pane of the Status tab in the Status window of the event center shows that 

Detected viruses have not been treated yet. 

Click the link Treat Now for further action. 

4.8 Updating 

The infected item will be moved to quarantine automatically. 

Your Avira product searches for and automatically installs updates of the virus definition 

file and the scan engine several times per day. Additionally, you may trigger updates from 

the sidebar manually. 

Your Avira Mac Security provides 2 types of updates: A mere detection update and an allin-one 

update that updates the product and the detection. 

To open the Update window, click Update in the sidebar of the event center. 

The What would you like to update? window opens. 

Select if you want to update the detection only or if you prefer an all-in-one update. 

The virus definition file, the scan engine as well as the product itself will be 

updated. 

Click Update Now, to trigger an update manually. 

Note 

You must be logged in with an administrator account to trigger the all-in-one 

update. Type your password in the password field. 


Note 

After an update of the virus definition file, quarantined false positives may be 

restored automatically to their original location. 

Note 

If your Mac is managed by the Avira Management Console, manual Update is 

disabled and a tooltip indicates it is an AMC-managed environment. 


If an update requires a restart of the product, you are asked whether to restart your Avira 

Mac Security now: 

To execute immediately the restart of Avira Mac Security, select Yes. 

To restart your Avira Mac Security at a later date, select No. 

During update process, your Avira product displays the following information: 

• Download speed: The speed of downloading process in Kbit/s. 

• Downloaded: The total amount of downloaded bytes as KB. 

• Time elapsed: The time elapsed since the start of the process as . 

• Download time: The duration of the downloading process as . 

After the update has finished, the following information is displayed: 

• Results: 

Your Avira product has been successfully updated 

• Statistics: 

• Engine: 

• Product: 

Updated Files: Total number of updated files. 

Already up-to-date. 

Update available. 

• Detection: 

Already up-to-date. 

Click OK to close the window and to return to the main Update window. 

You may choose an additional product update from the Update window. 


5. Scheduler 

5.1 Scheduling Scans And Updates 

Choose the Scheduler from the sidebar to schedule a periodic scan or update task. The 

Scheduler window has two tabs: 

• Scan with the option to switch Scheduled Scans On or Off. 

• Update with the option to switch Scheduled Updates On or Off. 

Click the appropriate tab to open the specific pane. 

Select what kind of default job you want to perform and specify the timeline for this 

job. 

Note 

If your Mac is managed by the Avira Management Console, Scheduler is 


5.2 Scheduling Scans 

With the Scheduler feature of the sidebar, you schedule targeted scans for viruses and 

unwanted programs. Choose Scheduler > Scan > Scheduled Scans > On. 

To turn on the Scheduled Scans, switch the default button to On. 

Turn on Quick scan for a virus search on most vulnerable parts of your Mac. 

Turn on Full system scan for a complete malware search on your system. 

Scheduler 

Alternatively, you choose the Custom scan and specify the drive and the folders you 

want to be scanned. 

For an easier selection of drives and folders to be scanned, click Choose.... 

Click the + button to open the Finder window. 

Select a file or a folder and click Open. 

The selected item is displayed in the Custom Scan Configuration pane. 

You may drag items from the desktop into the Preview pane of the Finder Open 

window. 

Click Open, to move the selected item to the Custom Scan Configuration pane. 

To return to the Scheduled Scans window, click Save. 

Please specify a point in time for the Scheduled Scans. You may choose a daily or 

weekly point in time or an interval. 


If you want the Scheduled Scans to run every day, turn on Every day at and select 

a time from the menu. 

If you want the Scheduled Scans to run once a week, turn on Every week on and 

select the day and the time from the menu. 

If you prefer to specify a certain time interval, turn on Every and choose an interval 

of days, of hours, and of minutes from the menu. 

To always be on the safe side, click the check box Scan system upon starting if 

one or more scheduled scans were missed. 

To keep your settings and to return to the Scheduled Scans window, click Save. 

To reset all settings, to close the Custom Scan Configuration pane and to return to 

the Scheduled Scans window, click Cancel. 

5.3 Scheduling Updates 

The effectiveness of anti-virus software depends on how up-to-date the program is, in 

particular the virus definition file and the scan engine. To carry out regular updates, the 

Scheduled Updates component is integrated into your Avira Mac Security. Scheduled 

Updates ensures that your Mac security is always up-to-date and able to deal with the 

new viruses that appear every day. The default update interval is 2 hours. Choose 

Scheduler > Update > Scheduled Updates > On. 

Note 

We strongly recommend that you do not turn off the default update job 

Scheduled Updates. 

The updated components are the following: 

• Virus definition file: 

Scheduler 

The virus definition file contains the virus patterns of harmful programs which are 

used by your Avira Mac Security to scan for viruses and malware and repair infected 

objects. 

• Scan engine: 

The scan engine contains the methods used by your Avira Mac Security to scan for 

viruses and malware. 

• Program files (product update): 

Update packages for product updates make extra functions available to the individual 

program components. 

An update checks whether the virus definition file and the scan engine are up-to-date and 

if necessary, implements an update. Depending on the option you have chosen under 

Actions > Update, the Updater module also carries out a product update. The Updater 

module informs you of the product updates available by a dialog. 


To close the product update information dialog, click OK. 

Scheduler 

After a product update, you may have to restart your Mac. If only the virus definition file 

and scan engine are updated, the computer does not have to be restarted. To turn on 

Scheduled Updates, switch the default button on the Update tab of the Scheduler to On. 

Please specify a point of time for the Scheduled Updates. You may choose a daily or 

weekly point of time or an interval. 

If you want the Scheduled Updates to run every day, turn on Every day at and 

select a time from the menu. 

If you want the Scheduled Updates to run once a week, turn on Every week on and 

select the day and the time from the menu. 

If you prefer to specify a certain time interval, turn on Every and choose an interval 

of days, of hours, and of minutes from the menu. 

To always be on the safe side, click the check box Perform update upon starting if 

one or more scheduled updates were missed. 

To keep your settings and to close the Scheduled Updates window, click Save. 

To reset all settings and to close the Scheduled Updates window, click Cancel. 


6. Quarantine and Logs 

6.1 Quarantine 

Quarantine and Logs 

Detected viruses, malware or unwanted programs are stored in the quarantine directory. 

Files cannot be added manually to the quarantine directory. Once a file is sent to 

quarantine it cannot be executed as long as it resides in quarantine. 

The Quarantine tab 

To open the quarantine manager, click Quarantine & Logs in the sidebar. 

Click the Quarantine tab to open the quarantine manager. 

The detected malware is displayed in a table, listed by Date, Virus and Filename. 

The latest detections are placed at the bottom of the table. 

To select an item, click the appropriate checkbox. 

To view detailed information, double-click the file. 

The displayed Quarantine details are the following: 

Original file name: The original name and place of the file, for example a file in the 

Downloads folder. 

Quarantine file name: The file is packaged into a special format (*.qua) and moved 

to the Quarantine directory on your hard disk, so that direct access is no longer 

possible. Files can be restored, rescanned, deleted or sent to Avira, if necessary. 

Date: The time and day, the malware was detected and added to the quarantine. 

Whether this kind of malware was already sent to Avira or not. 

Detection version: The version of the virus definition file. 

Engine version: The version of the anti-virus engine. 

Additional info: --- 

In addition, the Malware table displays more information about the quarantined file. In 

order to see the complete URL, you may resize the column width by dragging the 

column header line to the left or to the right. For further adjustments of the display, 

use the slider at the bottom of the table. 

Name: The name of the detected malware. 

Type: The assumed type of the malware, as viruses or unwanted programs. 

URL: The source of the detection. 

Click the red close button in the title bar or click OK to close the Quarantine details 

information window. 



To treat a selected item, choose an option from the Action for selected item(s) 

menu. You may select the following actions: 

• Delete: The infected file is irrevocably removed. 

• Rescan: The infected file is scanned again by the Real-Time Protection scanner. 

Rescanning a file is recommended if the virus definition file of your Avira Mac Security 

has been updated and a false positive report is suspected. This enables you to confirm 

a false positive with a rescan and possibly restore the file, otherwise it remains in 

quarantine. If verified as virus, you receive an Antivirus ALERT dialog that provides 

more detailed information. 

• Restore: The detected malware will be relocated to its original folder, if the original 

location still exists. 

• Send file to Avira: You may send files to Avira for further examination. The path of the 

file you wish to send is written automatically to the subject line of the sending form. Fill 

in the form with your personal data as name and email address and select an 

assumption from the menu. Don't forget to choose a file format for Avira's reply email. 

To send the file, click Upload. The progress indicator shows the upload process. The 

file sent stays in quarantine. 

Note 

If your Mac is managed by the Avira Management Console, the Delete and 

Restore actions are only available to administrator users, upon authentication. 

Click Apply to perform the selected action. 

You are asked to enter your password to allow Avira to perform the selected 

action. 

To allocate only one action to all quarantined files, click Select All. 

Each action is written to the event database and displayed in the pane of the 

Logs tab of the Quarantine & Logs window. 

Click Refresh to update the Quarantine manager. 

6.2 Logs 

Each recently found malware is added to the table of the Quarantine manager. 

Each quarantined malware with the assigned action Delete or Restore is 

removed from the Quarantine manager's table. 

All information from the different modules of Avira Mac Security is displayed in the pane of 

the Logs tab in the Quarantine & Logs window. All relevant issues such as updates, 

upgrades, scans, detection results, quarantine directory, status of modules or product 

errors are written to the event database called Logs. You may remove events from the 

database to prevent it from becoming too big. (Preferences). 


The Logs tab 

Period of Time 

Source 

Choose for which time period you want the events information to be displayed. 


To open the calendar, click the arrow of the Period of Time menu from and of the 

menu to. 

The calendar opens with today's day. Click the appropriate date or choose a 

different month. 

To change the month, click the green forward or backward arrow or open the list of 

months by clicking the arrow next to the actual month. 

Select at least one source from which you want to retrieve reports: 

• Scanner: Information from the system scanner with configurable scan for all known 

types of viruses and malware. 

• RT Protection: Information from the on-access background process (Real-Time 

Protection) for continuous monitoring of all file access attempts. 

• Updater: Reports from the Updater module which looks after simple and quick updates 

to the program, virus definitions, and search engine through mere detection updates or 

all-in-one updates (product and detection) via a web server on the Internet. 

• Quarantine: Reports from the integrated quarantine management that isolates and 

processes suspicious files. 

Type 

Select at least one type of report you would like to see: 

• Virus: The virus detection reports which module has detected what kind of malware in 

which location. 

• Error: Displays which module has caused error messages during what kind of process. 

• Warning: Reports various kinds of warning messages, such as missing read or access 

permissions for files and directories. 

• Info: General information, such as skipped files due to their socket file or symbolic link 

function. 

The events are listed in a table, sorted by Date, Source, Type and Message. 

Example: 


Date Source Type Message 

1/17/12 

1:33 

PM 

1/17/12 

1:46 

PM 

RT 

Protection 

Virus Virus found in 

/Users/test/Downloads/eicarcom2.zip 

Scanner Warning Scan progress: no read permission for 

"/Users/test/.Spotlight ..." (skipped) 

You find the latest message at the bottom of the table. 

To see more details about an entry, double-click the message. 

More detailed information is displayed in a new window. 


Click the red close button in the title bar or click OK to close this information window. 

Click Refresh to update the database. 

Note 

As System Administrator, you may access the system log file via the Terminal: 

Enter /var/log/system.log 


7. Preferences 

7.1 Preferences Overview 

Preferences 

Your Avira Mac Security monitors constantly the security status of your Mac. If there are 

any risks for your Mac, the Status window of the event center displays the lack of 

protection and the Avira logo in the Dock shows a yellow warning symbol. You may fix 

those risks with just one click: Secure My Mac Now. In addition to the automatically 

monitored security risks, you may adjust further settings for security risks in the 

Preferences window. In order to trigger extra alerts, you must log in as an administrator to 

tune the configuration settings. 

To open the Preferences window, choose Menu bar > Avira > Preferences or 

Control-click the Avira logo in the Dock while the application is running and select 

Open Preferences. 

Note 

If your Mac is managed by the Avira Management Console, Preferences are 


The toolbar of the main Preferences window contains three configuration buttons: 

• General: In addition to automatically monitored risks you can adjust some general 

vulnerabilities as risks that cause alerts. 

• Virus Scan: Specifies the scanning procedure of the on-demand scanner. 

• Real-Time Protection: Specifies the scanning procedure of the on-access scanner. 

The General window has two tabs: 

• Basic Settings: Specifies the basics settings that cause alert messages in the main 

Status window of the event center. 

• Logging: Specifies how long events are logged in the database. 

By default the General configuration category is opened with the Basic Settings tab. To 

switch between the different dialogs of preferences, click the configuration buttons of the 

toolbar of the Preferences window. All configuration dialogs provide a Restore Defaults 

button, in order to make it easy for you to go back to the default configuration of the dialog 

in question. To reset all settings to their previous values and to close the configuration 

dialog, click Cancel. To save your settings and to close the configuration dialog, click OK. 


7.2 General 

To tune the settings of your Avira Mac Security, choose Avira > Preferences. The 

General Preferences window opens. It provides two configuration dialogs on two tabs: 

7.2.1 Basic Settings 

You may turn on the information about the following security risks that will trigger extra 

alerts in the main Status window of the event center: 

• Last successful update older than ... 

• Scheduled updates turned off 

• Untreated viruses 

Select one or more security risk(s) to be informed about. 

If you select Last successful update older than ...for additional security risks 

information, also choose a period of time from the days and the hours menu. 

To save your settings and to close the dialog, click OK. 

To allow Avira to save the changes you made, type your password. 

7.2.2 Logging 

Preferences 

Your Avira Mac Security logs information about security relevant events. In the pane of the 

Logging tab you define when the database should be cleaned up, because with time the 

amount of events increases and may slow down the performance of your Mac. 

Select, after what period of time logs should be deleted. Choose a period of time 

from the months menu: 

• Automatically delete events older than 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. 

The default value is set to 6 months. 

7.3 Virus Scan 

The Virus Scan window of the Preferences has three tabs for customizing the settings of 

the on-demand system scanner. Choose Menu bar > Avira > Preferences and click the 

Virus Scan button in the toolbar of the Preferences window. 

• Basic Settings 

• Heuristic Detection 

• Threat Categories 



You may choose what kind of files will be scanned on demand by the virus scanner and 

which action shall be taken for detected viruses. 

Detection Range 

Scan all files 

All files and folders of your system will be scanned for malware. 

Scan potentially dangerous files only 

The most endangered parts of your system will be scanned. 

Default value is Scan potentially dangerous files only. 

Action on Detection 

Treat each detection separately 

You will be informed about each detection and you have to choose an action on 

detection. 

Treat each detection automatically 

Each infected item will be treated automatically. 

Default value is Treat each detection automatically. 

If you keep the default setting, the default action if a virus is found is Move files to 

quarantine. 

Select the kind of file to be scanned from the Detection Range section. 

Select an action from the Action on Detection section. If you want the detections to 

be treated automatically, also select a procedure from the Default action menu. 

Preferences 

Choose an action for the infected item: Delete, Move files to quarantine or Ignore 

until next update. 

To save your settings and to close the dialog, click OK and type your password to 

allow Avira to save your customized settings. 

To close the preferences window without keeping your settings, click Cancel. 

Archive Handling 

• By default Avira Mac Security scans archives with the on-demand virus scanner. 

Archives are containers for files such as documents, pictures or executable files. Archives 

can have simple but also very complex structures. Very often those archived files are also 


Preferences 

compressed to save disk space. Therefore, they are perfect virus hideouts and infection 

hubs. Those compressed files are scanned, decompressed and scanned again. Please 

note that archives can be quite large sometimes and scanning them for viruses may take a 

long time. 

• By default the scan of archives is turned On. 

• Scan archives 

You may turn off the scanning of archives by choosing Do not scan archives. 

7.4 Heuristic Detection 

Avira Mac Security contains a highly powerful heuristic and macro virus heuristic that can 

proactively detect unknown malware and new viruses. It enhances the so called signature 

based detection which looks for known viruses. Macro viruses are small programs that are 

written in the macro language of an application (for example WordBasic under WinWord 

6.0) and that can normally spread within documents of this application. For this reason, 

they are also called document viruses, you may receive per email. In order to be active, 

they need that the corresponding applications are activated and that one of the infected 

macros has been executed. 

Scan for macro viruses 

You may turn off the scan for macro viruses. 

Use heuristic detection to find new viruses 

You may turn off the heuristic detection to find new viruses. 

Heuristic Detection Level 

By default, the search with heuristic technique is turned on and the detection level is 

set to Medium. 

You may change the detection level by moving the slider control. 

� Low: Weakest detection level with a low risk that clean files will be detected as 

infected. 

� Medium: Strong detection level with a low risk that clean files will be detected as 

infected. 

� High: Strongest detection level with a higher risk that clean files will be detected as 

infected. 

7.5 Threat Categories 

Avira Mac Security not only searches for all kinds of viruses but protects your Mac against 

various other threats, such as dangerous or unwanted applications. If you are not sure 

what kind of threats you want Avira Mac Security to scan for, keep the default values. 


Dangerous Applications 

Adware/Spyware 

Preferences 

Software that displays advertising or software that sends the user's personal data to a 

third party, often without his knowledge or consent. 

Backdoors 

In order to steal data or manipulate your Mac, a backdoor server program is smuggled 

in, unknown to the user. This program can be controlled by a third party using 

backdoor control software (client) via the Internet or a network. 

Double extension file 

Executable files that hide their real file extension in a suspicious way. This camouflage 

method is often used by malware. 

Phishing 

Also known as brand spoofing, phishing is a clever form of data theft aimed at 

customers of Internet providers, online banking services or registration authorities. 

When submitting your email address on the Internet, filling in online forms, accessing 

newsgroups or websites, your data can be stolen by "Internet crawling spiders" and 

then used without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. 

Security privacy risk 

Software that may be able to compromise the security of your Mac, initiate unwanted 

program activities, damage your privacy or spy on your user behavior. 

Unusual runtime packer 

Files that have been compressed with an unusual runtime packer and that can 

therefore be classified as potentially suspicious. 

Unwanted applications 

Dubious application 

Dialer 

Game 

Refers to an application which may involve a risk when used or is of dubious origin. 

A software program that connects to the Internet via a suitable premium rate number 

whose scale of charges can vary widely. 

Studies have shown that the number of working hours devoted to computer games 

has long reached economically significant proportions. It is therefore not surprising that 

more and more companies are considering ways of banning computer games from 

workplace computers. 


Joke 

Preferences 

Jokes are merely intended to give someone a surprise or provide general amusement 

without causing harm or propagating themselves. A joke usually does not contain 

malicious code but might be annoying. 

By default the scan for the following dangerous applications is turned On: 


Backdoors 


Phishing 

By default the scan for the following unwanted applications is turned On: 

Dialer 

To restore the default values, click Restore Defaults. To reset all settings to their previous 

values and to close the configuration dialog, click Cancel. To save your settings and to 

close the preferences dialog, click OK and type your password to allow Avira to save your 

customized settings. 

7.6 Real-Time Protection 

The Real-Time Protection window of the Preferences has three tabs for customizing the 

settings of the on-access real-time scanner. Choose Menu bar > Avira > Preferences 

and click the Real-Time Protection button in the toolbar of the Preferences window. 

• Basic Settings 

• Heuristic Detection 

• Threat Categories 


You may choose what kind of files will be scanned on access by the Real-Time 

Protection scanner and which action shall be taken for detected viruses. 

Detection Range 

Scan all files 

All files and folders of your system will be scanned for malware. 


Scan potentially dangerous files only 

The most endangered parts of your system will be scanned. 

Default value is Scan all files. 

Action on Detection 

Treat each detection separately 

You will be informed about each detection and you have to choose an action on 

detection. 

Treat each detection automatically 

Each infected item will be treated automatically. 

Default value is Treat each detection automatically. 

If you keep the default setting, the default action if a virus is found is Move files to 

quarantine. 

Select the kind of file to be scanned from the Detection Range section. 

Select an action from the Action on Detection section. 

Regardless of whether you want the detections to be treated automatically or 

separately, also select a procedure from the Default action menu. 

Choose an action for the infected item: Delete or Move files to quarantine or 

Ignore until next VDF update. 

To save your settings and to close the dialog, click OK and type your password to 

allow Avira to save your customized settings. 

To close the preferences window without keeping your settings, click Cancel. 

Archive Handling 

By default Avira Mac Security does not scan archives with the on-access Real-Time 

Protection scanner. Archives are containers for files such as documents, pictures or 

executable files. Archives can have simple but also very complex structures. Very often 

those archived files are also compressed to save disk space. Therefore they are perfect 

virus hideouts and infection hubs. If you turn on the scan archives option, those 

compressed files are scanned, decompressed and scanned again. Please note that 

archives can be quite large sometimes and scanning them for viruses may take a long 

time. 

By default the search in archives is turned Off. 

You may turn on the scanning of archives, by choosing Scan archives. 

Preferences 


7.6.2 Detection 

Preferences 

If the continuously monitoring Real-Time Protection scanner detects malware of any kind, 

the Real-Time Protection results window opens. The message Security Risk Detected is 

displayed and the following detailed information is listed: 

• Number of Detected Viruses: The total number of detected viruses 

• Date / Time: The day and the exact time of the detection 

To select one of the two available actions on detection, click the appropriate radio 

button. The default value is "Move files to quarantine". 

Note 

If you want to select a different action than the default one, you have to be 

logged in with an administrator account. 

Click OK to assume your selection. 

If you have chosen a different action than the default one, the infected item is 

scanned again and treated the way you have selected. 

If you did not choose any action for infected items, the pane of the Status tab in 

the Status window shows that Detected viruses have not been treated yet. 

Click the link Treat Now for further action. 

The infected item will be moved to quarantine automatically. 

7.7 Heuristic Detection 

Avira Mac Security contains a highly powerful heuristic and macro virus heuristic that can 

proactively detect unknown malware and new viruses. It enhances the so called signature 

based detection which looks for known viruses. Macro viruses are small programs that are 

written in the macro language of an application (for example WordBasic under WinWord 

6.0) and that can normally spread within documents of this application. For this reason, 

they are also called document viruses, you may receive per email. In order to be active, 

they need that the corresponding applications are activated and that one of the infected 

macros has been executed. 

Scan for macro viruses 

You may turn off the scan for macro viruses. 

Use heuristic detection to find new viruses 

You may turn off the heuristic detection to find new viruses. 

Heuristic Detection Level 

By default, the search with heuristic technique and the scan for macro viruses are 

turned on and the detection level is set to Medium. 


You may change the detection level by moving the slider control. 

� Low: Weakest detection level with a low risk that clean files will be detected as 

infected. 

� Medium: Strong detection level with a low risk that clean files will be detected as 

infected. 

� High: Strongest detection level with a higher risk that clean files will be detected as 

infected. 

7.8 Threat Categories 

Preferences 

Avira Mac Security not only searches for all kinds of viruses but protects your Mac against 

various other threats, such as dangerous or unwanted applications. If you are not sure 

what kind of threats you want your Avira product to scan for, keep the default values. 

Dangerous Applications 


Software that displays advertising or software that sends the user's personal data to a 

third party, often without his knowledge or consent. 

Backdoors 

In order to steal data or manipulate your Mac, a backdoor server program is smuggled 

in, unknown to the user. This program can be controlled by a third party using 

backdoor control software (client) via the Internet or a network. 


Executable files that hide their real file extension in a suspicious way. This camouflage 

method is often used by malware. 

Phishing 

Also known as brand spoofing, phishing is a clever form of data theft aimed at 

customers of Internet providers, online banking services or registration authorities. 

When submitting your email address on the Internet, filling in online forms, accessing 

newsgroups or websites, your data can be stolen by "Internet crawling spiders" and 

then used without your permission to commit fraud or other crimes. 

Security privacy risk 

Software that may be able to compromise the security of your Mac, initiate unwanted 

program activities, damage your privacy or spy on your user behavior. 

Unusual runtime packer 

Files that have been compressed with an unusual runtime packer and that can 

therefore be classified as potentially suspicious. 


Unwanted Applications 

Dubious application 

Dialer 

Game 

Joke 

Refers to an application which may involve a risk when used or is of dubious origin. 

A software program that connects to the Internet via a suitable premium rate number 

whose scale of charges can vary widely. 

Preferences 

Studies have shown that the number of working hours devoted to computer games 

has long reached economically significant proportions. It is therefore not surprising that 

more and more companies are considering ways of banning computer games from 

workplace computers. 

Jokes are merely intended to give someone a surprise or provide general amusement 

without causing harm or propagating themselves. A joke usually does not contain 

malicious code but might be annoying. 

By default the scan for following dangerous applications is turned On: 


Backdoors 


Phishing 

By default the scan for the following unwanted applications is turned On: 

Dialer 

To restore the default values, click Restore Defaults. To reset all settings to their previous 

values and to close the configuration dialog, click Cancel. To save your settings and to 

close the configuration dialog, click OK and type your password to allow Avira to save your 

customized settings. 


This manual was created with great care. However, errors in design and contents 

cannot be excluded. The reproduction of this publication or parts thereof in any form 

is prohibited without previous written consent from Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG. 

Issued Q2-2012 

Brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their 

respective owners. Protected trademarks are not marked as such in this manual. 

However, this does not mean that they may be used freely. 

© 2012 Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG. All rights reserved. 

Errors and omissions excluded. 

Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG 

Kaplaneiweg 1 | 88069 Tettnang 

Germany 

Telephone: +49 7542-500 0 

Facsimile: +49 7542-500 3000 

www.avira.com

Avira User Manual

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