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 Scanning your computer for viruses

One of the main objectives for BullGuard is to keep your computer safe from viruses and spyware.

This is first and foremost done by keeping new malware out of your computer, by scanning your emails and any new files downloaded or copied to your system.

But there is a great risk that viruses or spyware have already penetrated your system, prior to your installing BullGuard. This is why it's a very good idea to scan your computer for resident threats after you've installed the program. And it's definitely also a good idea to make it your routine to frequently scan your computer.

Note: This guide is for BullGuard v8.0. If you are using version 4.5, see the following guide: BullGuard v4.x

To scan your computer, please follow this guide:

  Close all open programs
 

In order for BullGuard to make a complete scan, you need to shut down all open programs. It is especially important to shut down your email client (i.e. Outlook, Outlook Express or Thunderbird).

  Make sure BullGuard knows the latest viruses

Before you let BullGuard scan your computer you should make sure that it is up-to-date with its virus definitions, since new viruses and spyware are found and identified every day. BullGuard tells you when it was last updated in the Main > Overview section:

Important: If this date is not recent, you should let BullGuard update its virus definitions. Click the Check & Update button to perform a manual update.

  BullGuard scanning section 

Now go to the Antivirus-Antispyware section and click the Scan tab:

  Choose what to scan 

Next, choose what you want to scan. BullGuard has four pre-defined scan profiles. Choose the My Computer profile if you want to scan the entire computer or Quick Scan for a sweep of the most likely virus and spyware locations on your machine. Then click the big Scan now button.

You can also choose to create your own customised scanning profile. Click the "+" button in the bottom-left corner to add a new profile to the list.

  Settings

If you are not that familiar with computers, now is the time to simply click the big Scan now button. BullGuard will start the scanning of your computer using the standard settings, which are sufficient.

More advanced users might want to take advantage of the scan settings that BullGuard offers. Explore these by clicking the Settings button.

  Scan

Once all is set and you've clicked the Scan now button, BullGuard will start scanning. Depending on the size and number of the files on your harddrive, this may take a while - so please be patient. :)

While scanning, BullGuard will show you its progress and alert you if any viruses or spyware are found.

  Your scan report

Once the scanning is complete, BullGuard will create a report of what it found. If your computer is clean, it should look like this:

If BullGuard finds viruses present, it will list these and try to remove, disinfect or move them to the quarantine automatically. If this is the case, please follow the on-screen instructions to solve the problem.

Note: BullGuard will normally detect and remove infections on your computer.

However, if it cannot deal with some of its findings after several rounds of fixing, it will offer the Send log option which automatically sends the scan report to our Support Team for analysis. Just enter your valid email address (if it is not already prefilled with your username) and press OK to send the log.

Another way to send us the scan report is to scroll down to the end of the report and choose the Copy log to Desktop option, available only when the scanning is finished.

Expect a resolution to your virus or spyware issues within 1 hour.

Kind regards,

The BullGuard Team