Symantec 11281411 Administration Guide - Page 89

3 Chapter Scanning for viruses and other threats This chapter includes the following topics: ■ About threats ■ About scans in Symantec AntiVirus ■ Configuring Auto-Protect scans ■ Configuring manual scans ■ Configuring scheduled scans ■ Handling Symantec AntiVirus clients with intermittent connectivity ■ Configuring scan options About threats Symantec AntiVirus can scan for viruses and known and emerging threats, such as spyware, adware, and other files that could put your computer at risk. Symantec AntiVirus can scan for the following threat types: ■ Viruses: Programs or code that attach a copy of themselves to another computer program or document when it runs. Whenever the infected program runs or a user opens a document containing a macro virus, the attached virus program activates and attaches itself to other programs and documents. Viruses generally deliver a payload, such as displaying a message on a particular date. Some viruses specifically damage data by corrupting programs, deleting files, or reformatting disks.