Other products

Run Norton scans to check for threats on your PC

Your Norton device security product automatically updates virus definitions and regularly scans your PC for a range of threats. If you have been offline, or suspect that you have a virus, you can manually run the following:

  • Smart Scan to check security, performance, network, and privacy issues to help keep your digital life secured.

  • Quick Scan to analyze areas of your computer that are most vulnerable to threats.

  • Full Scan to analyze your entire system including less vulnerable applications, files, and running processes than those checked during a Quick Scan.

  • Custom Scan to analyze individual files, folders, or drives if you suspect that they are at risk.

After you install your Norton product, the first scan may take an hour or more to analyze your entire system.

Run a Quick Scan, Full Scan, or Custom Scan

  1. Open your Norton device security product.

    If you see the My Norton window, next to Device Security, click Open.

  2. In the Norton product main window, double-click Security, and then click Scans.

  3. In the Scans window, next to Scans and Tasks, select one of the following:

    • Smart Scan > Go

    • Quick Scan > Go

    • Full Scan > Go

    • Custom Scan > Go, then click Run next to Drive Scan, Folder Scan, or File Scan to navigate to the components that you want to scan.

  4. In the Results Summary window, click Finish.

    If there are items that require attention, review the risks in the Threats Detected window.

Full Scan

Full Scan performs a deep scan of your computer to remove viruses and other security threats. It checks all boot records, files, and running processes to which the user has access. This scans your computer thoroughly and takes longer time.

When you run a Full Scan with administrator privileges, it scans more files than when you run it without administrator privileges.

Run a Full Scan

  1. Open your Norton device security product.

    If you see the My Norton window, next to Device Security, click Open.

  2. In the Norton product main window, double-click Security, and then click Scans.

  3. In the Scans window, under Scans and Tasks, click Full Scan.

  4. Click Go.

Custom Scan

Occasionally, you might want to scan a particular file, removable drives, any of your computer's drives, or any folders or files on your computer. For example, when you work with removable media and suspect a virus, you can scan that particular disk. Also, if you have received a compressed file in an email message and you suspect a virus, you can scan that individual element.

Scan individual elements

  1. Open your Norton device security product.

    If you see the My Norton window, next to Device Security, click Open.

  2. In the Norton product main window, double-click Security, and then click Scans.

  3. In the Scans window, under Scans and Tasks, click Custom Scan.

  4. Click Go.

  5. In the Scans window, do one of the following:

    • To scan specific drives, click Run next to Drive Scan, select the drives that you want to scan, and then click Scan.

    • To scan specific folders, click Run next to Folder Scan, select the folders that you want to scan, and then click Scan.

    • To scan specific files, click Run next to File Scan, select the files that you want to scan, and then click Add. You can also press Ctrl, and select multiple files to scan.

  6. In the Results Summary window, click Finish.

    If any items require attention, review them and take the recommended action.

Norton Power Eraser scan

Norton Power Eraser is a powerful malware removal tool that can help you clean up the security risks that are difficult to remove. Norton Power Eraser uses aggressive techniques than normal scan process; sometimes there is a risk that Norton Power Eraser flags a legitimate program for removal. Review scan results carefully before removing any files using Norton Power Eraser.

Download Norton Power Eraser and run a scan

Norton Power Eraser is compatible with Windows 7 SP1 and newer operating systems.

  1. Download Norton Power Eraser.

  2. Press Ctrl + J key, to open the Downloads window in your browser, and double-click the NPE.exe file.

    If the User Account Control window prompts, click Yes or Continue.

  3. Read the license agreement and click Agree.

    If you have already accepted the license agreement, you will not be prompted again.

    Norton Power Eraser checks for and automatically downloads the new version if available.

  4. In the Norton Power Eraser window, select Full System Scan, and click Run Now.

  5. If you want to include the Rootkit scan, click Settings, and under Scan and Log Settings, toggle the option Include Rootkit scan (requires a computer restart) and click Apply.

  6. When you see a prompt to restart the computer, click Restart.

  7. Wait for the scan to complete and follow the on-screen instructions.

Need more help?

I found this information helpful.

Yes No

Help us improve this solution.

Thank you for helping to improve this experience.

What would you like to do now?

Browse for solutions, search the Norton Community, or Contact Us.

DOCID: v1910793
Operating System: Windows
Last modified: 08/05/2024