I've been using Avast for about 3 years now. I get pings all the time but I've never had a virus since I start using it. So I've never seen what the thing actually does when it does run across something.

I'm getting a few things showing up when scanning. This started the other day when I updated the database & ran it. But when I hover over the .exe files, it says (in the little yellow box that pops up from the system tray) "\path\ contains sample of xyz virus."

Sample of??

They all say that, or at least the ones that warn me when I hover over them. Since I've never seen Avast actually find a virus, I have no idea what it normally says. But, sample of? Has anyone seen that?

I've never used Avast so I can't speak to what's normal. However, you should be able to see Avast in action by feeding it a standard EICAR test file. Copy the following string with no quotes into a plain text file "X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*" and save it. If Avast has real time scanning it should detect it and do it's thing, or detect it when a manual scan is done. Note the resulting file is a DOS executable if given a .com extension.

Well, that took like 3 seconds to test. And yup, it said "sample of" on the warning. That is just too weird.

Which unfortunately means I likely really do have these viruses. Just fabulous. Been a long time, but I guess it had to happen sometime. I found the one at Avast and it's dated only this past Saturday so I guess it snuck in on me.

Sigh! :(

Bummer. Maybe their update got compromised and is distributing viruses?

Also, you mentioned in your first post about getting pings. Pings from whom? Is your machine sitting out there all alone on the big bad Internet for everyone to poke at without a NATing router ahead of it?