At home on my Vista machine, I run Symantec AntiVirus 10.2.0.276. This version of Symantec AntiVirus, provided by my employer, forces me to run a full system scan every Thursday at 12-Noon. This is very irritating for a number of reasons, but mostly because my computer is usually in use and I don't have the CPU cycles and system resources to spare in the middle of my workday. This machine is a dedicated desktop at home that I share between work and my personal ventures, so it's a client that does not connect directly to my employer's network (via a VPN or otherwise). As a result, the forced Thursday anti-virus scan is totally unnecessary.Disclaimer: I'm an advanced power user so I know what I'm doing and I trust myself to do the right thing so that I don't contract and spread a computer virus. If you know what you're doing, and you trust yourself and other PC's on your network to stay virus free, continue reading to find out how you can disable/unlock scheduled administrator scans in Symantec AntiVirus. BTW, disabling a forced administrator scan on a PC provided to you by your employer is probably a violation of their IT-security policy and could get you into trouble.
This works on Windows Vista with Symantec AntiVirus 10.2.x. I can't say for sure if this will work on Windows XP or with other versions of Symantec AntiVirus. I haven't tried it on XP, so, yeah.
Here's a screenshot of the locked scheduled scan on my machine. Note the lock on the scan icon; I can't delete this scan using the Symantec client. This is going to require a bigger hammer.
Step 1 - Open the Registry Editor
As an Administrator, run the "regedit" tool. Note that if you have Vista's UAC (User Account Control) enabled you'll have to accept a security warning when asked if you want to elevate your privilege level to an Administrator.
Nothing personal, but if you don't know what "regedit" is, or how to run it, then you probably shouldn't continue.
Step 2 - Find the Correct Registry Key
On my system, the scheduled scan registry key for Symantec AntiVirus was found at:
Under "LocalScans" you should see another node in the registry tree named "ClientScheduledScan_1" or something similar. The "ClientScheduledScan_1" is the node in the registry tree that registers my forced Administrator system scan with Symantec AntiVirus. Yours could be different, so you'll need to look around under LocalScans to find the correct one or at least confirm "ClientScheduledScan_1" is correct. Here's a snapshot:
Step 3 - Delete the Correct Registry Key
Once you've located the correct node in the registry (ClientScheduledScan_1), you can delete it. In the registry editor, right click on "ClientScheduledScan_1" and select Delete. When asked "Are you sure you want to permanently delete this key and all of its subkeys?" click Yes.
Step 4 - Confirm the Locked Scan is Gone
There is no need to restart your computer. To verify that the forced scan is gone, open Symantec AntiVirus. Select View, then select Scheduled Scans. The locked Administrator scan should be gone as shown below.
Stay thirsty my friends.
Here's a screenshot of the locked scheduled scan on my machine. Note the lock on the scan icon; I can't delete this scan using the Symantec client. This is going to require a bigger hammer.
Step 1 - Open the Registry Editor
As an Administrator, run the "regedit" tool. Note that if you have Vista's UAC (User Account Control) enabled you'll have to accept a security warning when asked if you want to elevate your privilege level to an Administrator.
Nothing personal, but if you don't know what "regedit" is, or how to run it, then you probably shouldn't continue.
Step 2 - Find the Correct Registry Key
On my system, the scheduled scan registry key for Symantec AntiVirus was found at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SOFTWARE
\Intel
\LANDesk
\VIrusProtect6
\CurrentVersion
\LocalScans
Under "LocalScans" you should see another node in the registry tree named "ClientScheduledScan_1" or something similar. The "ClientScheduledScan_1" is the node in the registry tree that registers my forced Administrator system scan with Symantec AntiVirus. Yours could be different, so you'll need to look around under LocalScans to find the correct one or at least confirm "ClientScheduledScan_1" is correct. Here's a snapshot:
Step 3 - Delete the Correct Registry Key
Once you've located the correct node in the registry (ClientScheduledScan_1), you can delete it. In the registry editor, right click on "ClientScheduledScan_1" and select Delete. When asked "Are you sure you want to permanently delete this key and all of its subkeys?" click Yes.
Step 4 - Confirm the Locked Scan is Gone
There is no need to restart your computer. To verify that the forced scan is gone, open Symantec AntiVirus. Select View, then select Scheduled Scans. The locked Administrator scan should be gone as shown below.
Stay thirsty my friends.
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