What do I do when Norton AntiVirus finds, cleans, or quarantines an infected file?

Norton AntiVirus™ may detect an unknown virus or other security risk that cannot be eliminated with the current set of virus definitions. Or you may have an item that you think is infected that is not being detected.

After a manual quick scan, Norton AntiVirus reports four numbers:

• How many files were scanned
• How many files had detected viruses, spyware and other security risks
• How many of these files Norton AntiVirus resolved
• How many of these files remain to be resolved by you

During an automatic scan, Norton AntiVirus prompts you to put the item in Norton Quarantine and Restore or it quarantines it automatically. Items that are in Norton Quarantine and Restore are isolated from the rest of your computer, so that they cannot spread or reinfect your computer.

You cannot accidentally open the item and spread the virus, but you can still evaluate it for possible submission to Symantec.

Norton Quarantine and Restore includes the following groups of items:
Security Risks is a group of items that includes items such as spyware and adware that are generally low risk and that may have dependencies. You can restore these items if another program requires them to function.
Security Threats is a group of items that includes viruses and other high-risk items.

Quarantine is a safe place to store virus-infected files without infecting other files on the computer. When Norton AntiVirus quarantines a file, it puts a wrapper around the file so that no other application can access it, and then stores it in the Quarantine folder. Quarantine backs up an infected item before it attempts to repair it by default. You can make adjustments in how Quarantine does this. From the Quarantine console, you can also submit an infected file to Symantec Security Response for analysis.

Once an item has been placed in Norton Quarantine and Restore, you have several options. All of the actions that you take on items in Norton Quarantine and Restore must be performed in the Norton Quarantine and Restore window. You can access these actions on the toolbar.

The following actions are available: Add Item, Details, Repair Item, Restore Item, Delete Item, Submit Item and Live Update. For details on these options, refer to the Norton Help system topic Managing items in Norton Quarantine and Restore in What to do if a security risk is found.

In particular, if Norton AntiVirus cannot repair your infected files, you may not have the most current virus protection on your computer. Update your virus definitions regularly to protect your computer from new viruses. If, after using LiveUpdate, the infected file still cannot be repaired, the file may be corrupted, or contain a new virus. You have the following options:

• Quarantine the file and submit it to Symantec. More information about submitting files to Symantec
• Replace the infected file with a clean copy, if one exists, and then delete the infected file.

Visit the Symantec Web site for more information.

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