Configuring Avast Business Antivirus Policies: Enabling and Customizing Web Shield

Web Shield is available for both Workstations and Servers.

Web Shield protects your system from threats while browsing the web. It also prevents malicious scripts from running, even when you are offline.

In Web Shield, you can enable and customize web, HTTPS, and script scanning.

1. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
2. Click the Active Protection tab.
3. In the Shields section, move the slider to enable Web Shield.
4. Click Apply Changes.

To Customize Web Shield Settings

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Main Settings tab.
7. In the Web Scanning section, click Enable, then click any of the following check boxes:
   • Warn when downloading files with poor reputation—Sends an alert message when a file with a bad rating or no rating with reputation services is being downloaded.
   • Scan traffic from well-known browser processes only—Resolves conflicts with less-known browsers and other web applications that you trust if they are blocked by Web Shield while trying to access the Internet. If you enable this option, data traffic from these less-known web applications is authorized and is not scanned for malware by Web Shield.
8. In the HTTPS Scanning section, click Enable, then click any of the following check boxes:
   • Use intelligent stream scanning—Scans files continuously while they are being downloaded. If you clear this box, the whole file is downloaded to a temporary folder, then scanned.
   • Do not scan trusted sites—Excludes websites with valid SSL certificates from scanning.
   • Block  malware  URLs—Blocks untrusted websites based on a database of known malware URLs.
   • Script scanning—Blocks malicious scripts from the web and other sources, including encrypted transfers via HTTPS connections.
9. In the Script Scanning section, click any of the following check boxes:
   • Internet Explorer
   • Mozilla Firefox
   • Google Chrome
   • Adobe Acrobat  Reader
   • Other applications
10. Click Apply Changes.

Configuring Avast Business Antivirus Policies: Customizing the File Types Web Shield Scans

You can define which items should be scanned while they are being downloaded from the web. Both file types and MIME types can be scanned.

File types and MIME-types can include wildcard characters * or ?. The asterisk replaces zero or more characters, whereas the question mark replaces a single character. For example:

• To scan both HTM and HTML file types, type htm* into the text box.
• To scan all file types with two characters in a file extension, type ?? into the text box.

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server  Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Web Scanning tab.
7. To scan every file when downloaded, click the Scan all files check box.
8. To choose file types to scan, click the Scan selected file types only check box, then click one or both of the following:
   • Scan files with specified extensions, then type an extension and click Add.
   • Scan files  with  specified  MIME-types, then type a MIME type and click Add.
9. Repeat step 8 until all extensions are added.
10. To not unpack archives when they have trusted digital signatures, click the Do not unpack archives with valid digital signatures check box.
11. Click Apply Changes.

To Remove a File Type or MIME-type from Web Shield Scans

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Web Scanning tab.
7. Next to the file type or MIME-type you want to remove, click .
8. Click Apply Changes.

Configuring Avast Business Antivirus Policies: Excluding URLs, MIME- types, and Processes from Web Shield

You can modify the URLs, MIME-types, and processes excluded from scanning.

URLs, extensions, and file locations can include wildcard characters ? and *. The asterisk replaces zero or more characters, and the question mark replaces a single character. For example:

• To block all subdomains and domains of a particular website, add *. to the beginning and /* to the end of the website domain, for instance  *.example.com/* .

• To scan both HTM and HTML file types, type htm* into the text box.

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs: 
   
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Exclusions tab.
7. To exclude a URL, in the Use URLs to Exclude section, click the Enable check box, then type the URL and click Add.
8. To exclude a MIME type, in the Use MIME-types to Exclude section, click the Enable check box, then type the URL and click Add.
9. To exclude a process, in the Use Processes to Exclude section, click the Enable check box, then type the URL and click Add.
10. Repeat steps 7-9 until all your chosen URLs, MIME-types, and processes are excluded.
11. Click Apply Changes.

To Remove an Exclusion from a File, File Type, or Location in Web Shield

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Exclusions tab.
7. Next to the exclusion you want to remove, click .
8. Click Apply Changes.

Configuring Avast Business Antivirus Policies: Customizing Actions Performed when Web Shield Finds a Virus, Potentially Unwanted Program or Suspicious File

You can specify what actions to take when a virus, a potentially unwanted program or a suspicious file is detected.

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Actions tab.
7. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Virus
   • PUP
   • Suspicious
8. Select an option in the Choose what action Avast will perform after finding a virus box.
9. To show a notification when a virus, PUP, or suspicious file is dealt with, check the Show a notification window when action is taken check box.
10. Click Apply Changes.

Configuring Avast Business Antivirus Policies: Customizing Which Archive Files Web Shield Attempts to Unpack

You can choose which archive (packer) files Avast Business Antivirus should attempt to unpack during the scanning process. Unpacking a file is the same as extracting a file from an archive. Original archives, including the files contained within, remain intact when being processed by Web Shield.

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Packers tab.
7. Do one of the following:
   • Click All packers.
   • Clear the All packers check box, then click the check boxes of individual packers.
8. Click Apply Changes.

Configuring Avast Business Antivirus Policies: Customizing Web Shield Scanning Sensitivity

You can adjust the sensitivity of the Avast Business Antivirus Web Shield.

Heuristics enable Avast Business Antivirus to detect unknown malware by analyzing code for commands which may indicate malicious intent. Specify your preferences for the following options:

• Indicate your preferred level of heuristic sensitivity. The default setting is Normal. With higher sensitivity, Avast Business Antivirus is more likely to detect malware, but also more likely to make false-positive detections (incorrectly identify files as malware).
• Code emulations unpack and test any suspected malware in an emulated environment where the file cannot cause damage to your devices. The Use code emulation option is enabled by default.

Enable the Test whole files check box if you want the scan to analyze entire files rather than only the parts typically affected by malicious code. When this option is enabled, the scan is slower but more thorough.

Enable the Scan for potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) check box if you want the scan to look for programs that are stealthily downloaded with other programs and typically perform unwanted activity.

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Sensitivity tab.
7. Select an option in the Heuristics Sensitivity box.
8. Click any of the following check boxes:
   • Use code emulation
   • Test whole  files
   • Scan for potentially unwanted programs (PUPs)
9. Click Apply Changes.

Configuring Avast Business Antivirus Policies: Blocking URLs with Web Shield

Site blocking lets you create a custom list of URLs that users will not be able to visit. This can be useful if you want to prevent users from accessing certain content on the web.

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Site Blocking tab.
7. Click the Enable site blocking check box.
8. Type a URL.
9. Click Add.
10. Repeat steps 8-9 until you have added all the URLs you want to block.
11. Click Apply Changes.

To Remove a Site Block in Web Shield

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Site Blocking tab.
7. Next to the block you want to remove, click .
8. Click Apply Changes.

Configuring Avast Business Antivirus Policies: Excluding URLs from Web Shield Script Scanning

Script scanning prevents browsers and other applications from running potentially malicious scripts. This includes remote threats from the web and outside sources, local threats downloaded to your hard drive or in the browser cache, and scripts that come from encrypted connections.

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast  Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Script Exclusions tab.
7. Click the Enable check box.
8. Type a URL.
9. Click Add.
10. Repeat steps 8-9 until you have added all the URLs you want to exclude.
11. Click Apply Changes.

To Remove a URL Exclusion in Web Shield Script Scanning

1. Click Service Delivery > Policies > Avast  Antivirus.
2. Click the name of a policy.
3. Click one of the following tabs:
   • Workstation Settings
   • Server Settings
4. Click the Active Protection tab.
5. Click the Customize link in the Web Shield section.
6. Click the Script Exclusion tab.
7. Next to the exclusion you want to remove, click .
8. Click Apply Changes.