What is a Virus Scan?

A virus scan will match the contents of files against a set of known malicious characteristics. It is important to ensure that the files you have on your site do not contain virii so that you are not helping spread a virus. This virus scan is powered by the ClamAV scanning engine (http://www.clamav.net/).

When and What Should I Scan?

While it is important to identify and prevent the spread of virii, it is not necessary to scan at every possible moment. You will want to scan your system frequently enough to make sure files that have been modified are scanned. If your files have not changed, there is probably no reason to scan. Something like your mail, which frequently changes can be scanned if the threat of a virus is present. It is always good to scan when a major virus outbreak has been reported.