Antivirus kernel
The antivirus kernel of avast! for Linux is identical to the kernel for Windows systems.
The latest version of the avast! antivirus kernel features outstanding detection abilities, together with high performance. You can expect 100% detection of In-the-Wild viruses (viruses already spreading between users) and excellent detection of Trojan horses with minimum false positives.
The kernel is certified by ICSA Labs; it frequently takes part in the tests of Virus Bulletin magazine, often yielding the VB100 award.
Like avast! for Windows, the avast! engine for Linux also features outstanding unpacking support. It can scan inside almost the same number of archives as under Windows, with the exception of MAPI, CAB, ACE, CHM, 7ZIP and NTFS streams. The following archives can be scanned: ARJ, ZIP, MIME (+ all associated formats), DBX (Outlook Express archives), RAR, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, ZOO, ARC, LHA/LHX, TNEF (winmail.dat), CPIO, RPM, ISO, and SIS. It also supports a number of executable packers (such as PKLite, Diet, UPX, ASPack, FSG, MEW, etc.).
User interface
The Simple User Interface is used to start on-demand scanning, to work with the results and to change the various scan options.
The user interface requires GTK+ 2.x libraries. If you do not have these libraries installed on your system, the libraries from the installation package will be used.
Command line scanner
Experienced users will appreciate the classic on-demand scanner, controlled from the command line. It enables files to be scanned in specified directories and both on local and remote volumes. Of course, the command line scanner also works on volumes mounted over a network.
The program is very flexible and has many additional arguments and switches. It is able to generate extensive report files that can be used for analysis.
The scanner is able to run in STDIN/STDOUT mode as a pipe filter. This mode is intended to be used in shell scripts.
Automatic updates
Updates of the virus database are another key need in virus protection. Avast! is usually updated at least 3 times a week (even more frequently during virus outbreaks), providing you with the most up-to-date definitions to efficiently protect your system against the latest threats.
Virus chest
The Linux version also has a chest directory where suspicious files are stored. These files can be deleted, or it is possible to work with them later. It is also possible to submit the files to our virus lab for further analysis.
Internationalization
Currently, avast! for Linux is available in the following languages: English, Czech, Portuguese (Brazil), Bulgarian, Finnish, French