Run and schedule scans in Desktop Security

Run a scan to detect threats on your device

Whether you're using the free or paid version of the app, you can manually run a scan to check for threats on your device. 

1. Open the app.
2. On the main dashboard, click the Scan button.
3. A progress page appears while the scan runs.
4. After the scan finishes, it displays the Threat scan summary.
   • If the scan detected no threats: Click Done.
   • If the scan detected threats on your device: Review the threats found on your computer. From here, you can manually quarantine threats by selecting a detection and clicking Quarantine.
5. Click View Report or View Scan Report to see a history of prior scans. After viewing the threat report, close the scanner window.

Note: Scans on macOS devices are faster than on Windows as the macOS app focuses only on areas likely to contain threats, such as specific folders for Safari extensions. This efficient approach reduces false positives and avoids scanning unchanged files, resulting in faster scans.

Schedule a scan to run automatically

We recommend running a scan weekly or whenever you download a new application. This keeps your computer running smoothly and protects your device. The feature to schedule scans is only available on the paid version of the app.

Schedule a scan on Windows devices

1. Open the app.
2. Click inside the Scanner box.
3. Click the Scan Scheduler tab.
4. Click Schedule a scan.
5. Choose to run a Threat Scan (recommended), Quick Scan, or Custom Scan. For more information on scan settings, see this article.
6. Select the Start date and Frequency before configuring the advanced options. 
7. Select Quarantine all threats.
8. Select Restart computer to remove threats. The Quarantine all threats setting needs to be enabled for this setting to be turned on.
9. Keep Use Smart Scan on. Smart Scans run when the machine is idle. To specify a start time, disable Smart Scan and manually configure the start time.
10. Keep Select Scan within archives on. 
11. When you're finished, click Save.

Schedule a scan on macOS devices

1. Open the app.
2. Click on the Settings icon.
3. Click Advanced Settings.
4. Click the Open Advanced Settings button.
5. On the Scheduled Scans tab, create a new scan by clicking the plus sign +.
6. Name the new scan.
7. Check Allow this scan to be performed.
8. Set the start time and frequency.
9. Under Options, keep the Ignore PUPs setting unchecked and off.
10. Keep Quarantine malware automatically on.
11. When finished, click Apply.