running multiple virus scans

elcaminojoe · 03-01-2010 @ 11:15 PM / 8 replies / 1435 views

K. There is a silent debate over this out there in the tech world, but I have never found a DEFINITE answer. and maybe there's not. But I want to know what people think.

Is it ok/acceptable/good to run AV scans from different appications "at the same time"????

ex: doing scans in AVG, Avast, NOD32, Kaspersky, Ad-Aware, Spybot, and MalwareBytes all at the same time.

i dont see how it is too bad of a problem (if your processor can handle that much scanning) unless they conflict with each other and/or give false-positives, or other things of that nature.

WesJones87 · Reply Posted: 03-01-2010 @ 11:28 PM

I wouldn't know a definite answer, as I only use one.

I would assume it would be ok though, as things that cannot be detected by one will probably be detected by another. If your processor can handle it, then there shouldn't be a problem.

Wade8813 · Reply Posted: 03-01-2010 @ 11:37 PM

We had a computer that had a lot of problems, and the having 2 AV systems seemed to be the cause of it (not even necessarily doing a simultaneous scans even, just having them).

elcaminojoe · Reply Posted: 03-02-2010 @ 12:15 AM

Originally Posted by Wade8813

We had a computer that had a lot of problems, and the having 2 AV systems seemed to be the cause of it (not even necessarily doing a simultaneous scans even, just having them).

now THAT is something i've never heard of. Maybe because you had the resident "always on/background scanning" feature of both of them on at the same time. that's....interesting.

ATARIGUY · Reply Posted: 03-02-2010 @ 04:36 AM

When I run my scans I run them 1 at a time but never more than one type of scan, like I will run 1 virus scan, 1 spyware scan and so on not 2 different virus scans or 2 different spyware scans.

EllyDicious · Reply Posted: 03-02-2010 @ 06:38 AM

well...first off, it's impossible to run the all the AV at the same time because it causes crashes on your system.
anyway, the only double scan you can do is when you have an AV and an Antimalware.
i don't think it causes any problem for the system.

Psyco · Reply Posted: 03-06-2010 @ 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by EllyDicious

well...first off, it's impossible to run the all the AV at the same time because it causes crashes on your system.
anyway, the only double scan you can do is when you have an AV and an Antimalware.
i don't think it causes any problem for the system.

It wouldn't necessarily crash your system, but it will slow them down to a crawl.

Honestly, you don't really need more than 1 virus program, and 1-2 spyware scanners. Depending on the anti-virus programs, they might not play nicely if two or more are installed on a computer at once. (IE: the two "resident programs" might not be compatable, or they might both need to use the same system files...)

elcaminojoe · Reply Posted: 03-12-2010 @ 06:19 PM

i know that two "resident" ones would definitely not work together, but I am just saying that if you "selectively scan" with two different Av programs the same disk or files at the same time. maybe no one NEEDS multiple AV programs, but it is nice, especially when one doesn't detect things. I have found that AVG is starting to suck it its current version for some reason, and I have taken a liking to Avast now, though I still like to have AVG up as well. ANYway.

Sigurd · Reply Posted: 03-12-2010 @ 06:57 PM

I think you could run multiple scans on your computer but it wouldn't be effective it would probably cause each scan to lag and they could crash if your computer was rather terrible