User manual

Updates
Avira Professional Security - User Manual (Status: 14 Dec. 2012) 58
6. 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
Updater component is integrated into your Avira product. The Updater ensures that your
Avira product is always up-to-date and able to deal with the new viruses that appear every
day. Updater updates the following components:
 Virus definition file:
The virus definition file contains the virus patterns of the harmful programs which are
used by your Avira product to scan for viruses and malware and repair infected
objects.
 Scan engine:
The scan engine contains the methods used by your Avira product 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, the scan engine and the product are up-
to-date and if necessary, implements an update. After a product update, you may have to
restart your computer system. If only the virus definition file and scan engine are updated,
the computer does not have to be restarted.
When a product update requires a reboot, you can decide whether to continue with the
update or to be reminded again later about the update. If you continue with the product
update immediately, you are still able to choose when the reboot should take place.
If you want to be reminded about the update later on, the virus definition file and the scan
engine will be updated anyway, but the product update will not be done.
Note
The product update will not be completed until a reboot has occurred.
Note
For security reasons, the Updater checks whether the Windows hosts file of
your computer was altered, whether the Update URL, for example, was
manipulated by malware and is diverting the Updater to unwanted download
sites. If the Windows hosts file has been manipulated, this is shown in the
Updater report file.
An update is automatically performed in the following interval: 60 minutes. You can edit or
disable the automatic update through the configuration (Configuration > Update).