Tag Archives: How To

Help others with their computer issues using Avast Remote Assistance

Avast Remote Assistance gives you access to any other computer with Avast installed.

Do your friends and family always call you when they run into a problem with their computer? Forget driving across town to help them out – if they are also Avast users, you can remotely access their computer.

remote assistance with mother

Avast Remote Assistance makes it a lot easier on the family IT person.

 

How to use Avast Remote Assistance

If you are the IT expert, the person in need of help has to request assistance from you. Instruct them to open the Avast user interface. The easiest way to find it, is to go to one of the four tiles on the Overview screen, and click on the small menu icon in the top right corner. A drop-down selection will open. Choose Remote Assistance.

remote-assistance-UI

Customize your Avast Overview screen for fast access.

Next, tell them to click the blue Get Assistance button. Avast will generate a code that they need to provide to you.  They can transfer the code to you by telephone, email, or chat. Make sure they understand that by sending the code they are granting you remote access to their computer. After you take control, this dialog disappears automatically.

When you receive the code, you will copy it into the box on your Avast’s Remote Assistance screen.  Follow the directions to connect. When the connection is established, this dialog disappears and the remote desktop window appears.

To close the connection, press the Alt+Shift+End shortcut.

How to use the Avast Virus Chest

The Avast Virus Chest is a safe place to store potentially harmful files. These files are completely isolated from the rest of the operating system, meaning that they are not accessible for any outside process or software application. Files cannot be run while stored in the Virus Chest.

How to open the Avast Virus Chest

To open the Virus Chest, right click on Avast’s little orange ball icon in the system tray in the bottom right hand corner of your computer. Select Open Avast user interface from the menu. Another way to open the user interface is to double click the desktop icon.

From the main menu, select Scan, then Scan for viruses, and then click the Quarantine (Virus Chest) button at the bottom of the screen to open the Virus Chest window.

If Avast 2015 detects an infected or suspicious file, it will try to repair it at first. Unfortunately, some files cannot be repaired so Avast will try to move the file to the Virus Chest. If the infected file refuses to move to the Virus Chest, it will be automatically deleted from your computer.

How to set up quick access to the Virus Chest

For quick access to the Virus Chest, you can assign it to one of the four shortcut squares in the Avast user interface. To change which function you see, click on the drop-down menu icon in the top right hand corner of the square. There you will find a choice to place the Virus Chest right on the Overview of your Avast product.

Once you have the shortcut on the user interface, then simply click it to open the Virus Chest.

avast-user-interface

Set the shortcuts that you want in the Avast user interface.

You can perform different actions while in the Virus Chest

You can perform different actions on the file inside the Virus Chest by right clicking. For example, you can

  • Restore a file
  • Exclude it from scanning
  • Report it to the virus lab
  • Delete the file

Once you have made the decision on which action to take, you will be asked to confirm your choice. When you have finished, close the Virus Chest to exit.

NOTE: Exercise extreme caution when restoring a file from the Virus Chest as it may still be infected. This is a high security risk action that requires advanced skills and experience handling infected files to avoid further potential infection of your computer.

How to manually move a file to the Virus Chest

If you need to move a file manually into the Virus Chest, right click anywhere on the contents table on the Virus Chest screen and select Add from the menu. A navigation dialog will open so all you need to do is locate the desired file that you want to move. Then click the Open button. The desired file will then appear in the contents table on the Virus Chest screen.

How to restore files from the Avast Virus Chest

When you open the Virus Chest, you will see a list of files contained within it. Right click on the file that you want to restore and the drop-down menu will appear. Select the Extract option, then select the location to save the file and click OK to close your window.

How To Spot a Fake Twitter Account

Social media is a great way of communicating with friends and family, but’s also a fantastic tool to meet new people with similar interests. You should be careful though, as popular social networks can have fake accounts which can pose a risk to your privacy or security.

One way to help stay safe is to learn how to spot these fake accounts and how to report them to the social network.

Beware of bio links

Spammers, scammers and hackers often use links in their Twitter bios (as as their feed) to get users to visit malicious sites.

Compare their followers

Fake or spam Twitter accounts follow thousands of users of users but have very few followers themselves

Watch out for strange mentions from strangers

You may get a random tweet from or mention thats makes no sense, This is often a sure sign that it’s a fake or malicious account

Beware of links tweeted with popular hashtags

Scammers often use trending or popular hashtags to tweet malicious links or get you to view their bio link

 

Until next time, stay safe out there!