[KB2769] Exclude files or folders from scanning in ESET Windows home and small office products

Issue

  • File-level scanning of some email servers, backup software, gaming applications or similar is causing abnormal system behavior
  • Exclude specific applications or folders from Real-time file system protection and all scan activity (Startup scan, On-access scanning and Computer [On-demand] scanning)
  • Processes Exclusions
  • Detection Exclusions

Details


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When performing a computer scan, the Scan log may contain notifications such as "unable to open," "error opening," or "archive damaged."

Your ESET product is unable to scan these file entries.

  • The file is password protected (for example, there are multiple user profiles on the computer)
  • The file is a Windows system or program file
  • The file is currently in use by other programs or background processes

Windows uses and locks certain files from startup until shutdown. These files and any others running in memory cannot be used by or tampered with by other programs, including ESET products or potential malware. ESET scans these files during startup and again during shutdown to ensure that they are not corrupt. If a locked file contains a threat, it will appear in red text in the scan log–files displayed in yellow are noted for informational purposes only and do not pose a threat to your system.


Solution

 macOS users


Exclusions might weaken the protection of your device

We recommend only excluding necessary files and folders. Excluding parts of your disk from scanning may weaken the protection of your device.

  1. Open the main program window of ESET Windows products

  2. Press the F5 key to open Advanced setup.

  3. Click Detection Engine, expand Exclusions and click Edit next to Performance Exclusions.

    Figure 1-1
  4. Click Add Browse (...).

    Figure 1-2
  1. Use the directory tree to browse for the file or folder you want to exclude, select it and click Open.

    Figure 1-3
  2. Click OK OK to save the exclusion.

    Using wildcards

    Use wildcards to exclude a group of files. Use a question mark (?) to exclude a single character and an asterisk (*) to exclude a string of characters. We do not recommend using wildcards in the middle of a path.

    For more information about using wildcards, visit ESET Online Help topic Add or Edit performance exclusion.

    Figure 1-4

If you are still experiencing issues with your app, you may need to exclude the app from Web access protection if it connects to the internet.

Exclude a safe website from being blocked by Web Access Protection in ESET Windows home and small office products.

Detection Exclusions

To add an exclusion using a detection name or SHA-1 file hash, use Detection Exclusions. Excluding by detection name or SHA-1 file hash poses a high-security risk and is recommended only for advanced users.