Scanning Counter Quits

[garioch7 5]

I posted before, in passing, on this issue in relation to my newbie questions about "In-Depth Scans."  I was informed that this behaviour was normal.

https://forum.eset.com/topic/42783-eset-in-depth-scan-doesnt-finish/?do=findComment&comment=190709

I run a custom scan to analyze only my "C:\" drive weekly.  I have two other drives in the computer, one of which only contains copies of important data files on the boot drive with all my data and another for backups.  I don't want to waste my time having those drives scanned.

The scanning "counter" stops about a minute before the scan finishes.

Would it be possible to tweak ESET to accurately and in real-time report what files/registry entries it is scanning?

Thank you for considering my suggestion.  Have a great weekend.

Regards,
Phil

[Marcos 5,468]

1 minute ago, garioch7 said:

Would it be possible to tweak ESET to accurately and in real-time report what files/registry entries it is scanning?

Unfortunately not as it would have a significant impact on scan performance.

[garioch7 5]

@Marcos,

Thank you for your reply.  I am confused.  All of the other AV products that I have used over the years since 1988, including lowly Windows Defender for periodic scanning these days, do have a counter that advances, presumably in real-time, as it is scanning.  ESET does start off reporting scan progress, but then I guess it gets tired and quits reporting scan progress.

Is there a method by which users can contact the ESET developers with customer suggestions, or do you fulfil that role?

It just seems to me to be a strange way for ESET to act, given that it is a premier AV solution.

No disrespect intended, but I wonder how others view this behaviour.  To me, it is like ESET is somewhat unfinished in that it does not convey such basic scan information continuously in real-time to the user.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

[itman 1,807]

24 minutes ago, garioch7 said:

ESET does start off reporting scan progress, but then I guess it gets tired and quits reporting scan progress.

Eset scan count stops while it is scanning registry and WMI entries. The counter only reflects files scanned.

[garioch7 5]

@itman,

Thank you for your reply.

If the ESET scanner is designed this way, at minimum, I would suggest the user should be notified why the scanner counter ceases to count.  Better yet, provide a continuing count.

At first glance, to an ESET novice user like myself, this appears to be a "bug" in my ESET installations.  I have never encountered that behaviour with any other AV and anti-malware products that I have used or do use.

Thank you for considering my suggestion.  Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

[itman 1,807]

11 minutes ago, garioch7 said:

I have never encountered that behaviour with any other AV and anti-malware products that I have used or do use.

These might be employing multiple processor threads; if capable, in their scanning which allow for both registry and WMI scanning to be running concurrent with file scanning.

By default, Eset off-line scans run with low priority. I assume this implies single thread processing.

[itman 1,807]

-Correction-

I just ran both a Smart and In-Depth profile Eset scan and the counter was incrementing while WMI entries were being scanned. I assume the same is true for registry entries. This is new scan behavior from previous Eset versions.

If the scan counter stops incrementing, Eset could be scanning a very large archive, .iso file, etc.. A Win installation .iso file for example, could contain close to 4 GB of data. Another possibility for Premium and Ultimate versions is connecting to its cloud; e.g. LiveGuard for additional scan processing although I haven't actually monitored for this activity.

Finally and again since Eset scanning runs at low priority by default if other process's are running concurrent w/Eset scan and require large system resources, I would suspect the scan might be just suspending itself until resource use is lower.

Edited November 2 by itman

[Marcos 5,468]

As I have already mentioned, this is mainlybdue to performance reasons.  We do not plan to change it since it would have noticeable impact on scan performance. It can happen when scanning archives or fileless objects, such as the registry.

[cr11 0]

If i may intrude on this topic, I also note the same scanning behavior but my (full scan as administrator) count stops around 230,000 files and then stops Permanently until the scan is complete(typically around 30,000 more files shown scanned. Is that normal?

[Marcos 5,468]

18 minutes ago, cr11 said:

If i may intrude on this topic, I also note the same scanning behavior but my (full scan as administrator) count stops around 230,000 files and then stops Permanently until the scan is complete(typically around 30,000 more files shown scanned. Is that normal?

If archives or fileless objects were being scanned, it's normal. The counter was being updated only at certain points mainly due to performance reasons.

[garioch7 5]

@Marcos, @itman,

Thank you for your replies.

When I run my weekly user-initiated scans, nothing else is running.  I sit and watch the scan progress for ESET, for Malwarebytes, and for Windows Defender (periodic scanning).  The latter two products, like other AV products that I have used in the past, continuously increment their scan counters.

If they can do that, why can't ESET?

I am not trying to be difficult, but I wonder how the average user reacts when the ESET scan counter just stalls.  The vast majority of ESET users are not "forum types."  How would they know this is "normal behaviour?"  @cr11 has raised the same question because he observes the same behaviour.

The stoppage of the scan counter would indicate to most people that something is amiss.  There is no notice to the user that s/he is not to be concerned because of what you have both stated.

As I stated previously, as a novice user, I would be concerned.  Something is wrong.  What ESET does is not "normal behaviour" witnessed with other AV and antimalware products.  User feedback should be a priority in a well-designed AV solution.

Quote

We do not plan to change it since it would have noticeable impact on scan performance.

I am sorry to hear that.  ESET is a respected AV solution.  Personally, I would much prefer to be kept informed of scan progress and wait longer for scan completion.

As I stated before, if other top-tier products can keep the user informed of scan progress without noticeably affecting scan times, why can't ESET?

My question about how a user like me can contact the developers to make my suggestion was never addressed.

Again, I thank you both for responding to my question.  Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

[Marcos 5,468]

This behavior is intentional due to performance reasons as explained above. There are no plans to change it as it would have adverse effect in scan performance. 

[garioch7 5]

@Marcos,

Thank you for your reply.  I am disappointed by that news.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil