Q. How do I renew my License Key?   
A. You will receive a desktop warning when your key is due to expire. Click the Renew Now button in the main application and follow the online store instructions. A new License Key will be emailed to you which you should enter into the software, replacing the cold key, to complete the renewal process.

Alternatively, go to the online Store, click the Renewal option and manually enter your license key and follow the instructions to purchase a new key.

Q. Can I renew my license key before it expires?  
A. Yes. When you renew online your new key will expire 12 months from the expiry date of your old key or 12 months from the date of your purchase, whichever is later. You can enter your new license key before your old one expires via the application's License Preferences.

Q. What happens if my license key has expired and I want to renew?   
A. Click on the Setup button in the desktop dialog warning and follow the online Store instructions to renew your license key. The software will automatically start receiving updates after you have renewed your key.

Q. What happens after my license key expires?   
A. After your license key expires ProtectWorks AntiVirus will continue to run as normal, except that you will no longer be able to download updates or qualify for free technical support. A Software Setup window will appear on the desktop whenever you open the main application. You can continue to run the application by clicking the 'OK' button.

Entering a new license key in the Software Setup window or in the Register License Key window will re-enable automatic updating.

Q. Will I be able to perform scans once the Evaluation period has ended?   
A. No. You will be required to enter a Product License Key to re-enable all the features of the software, including all types of scanning. Upgrading to a licensed version will also re-enable automatic updating.

Q. If I discontinue the evaluation can I reinstall it?   
A. You can reinstall the Trial version if it is within 30 days of the initial installation, however, after 30 days you will be required to enter a Product License Key to successfully re-install the software.

Q. How do I upgrade from an evaluation to a Licensed version?   
A. Go to the ProtectWorks website and purchase ProtectWorks AntiVirus via the online Store. Once you have been emailed a Product License Key, copy and paste the key into the Software Setup window or the License Preferences.

Q. How long is a licensed version valid?   
A. When you purchase ProtectWorks AntiVirus a license will last for 12 months. During this period you will automatically receive all updates to the software, as well as threat detection data, and qualify for free technical support.

Q. How do I register my License Key? 
A. Open ProtectWorks AntiVirus and select Register License Key from the Help menu. Enter your license key in the spaces provided and press the 'Register Key' button to complete the registration process.

Q. How do I find my License Key? 
A, Your License Key can be viewed in the ProtectWorks AntiVirus About box and in the Register License Key window.

Q. I have forgotten my License Key, what can I do? 
A. Go to the License Key Reminder page on the ProtectWorks web site and enter your email address, your license key will be emailed to you.

Q. Does the file-access scanner operate when the main application is not running? 
A. Yes. The file-access scanner is always running in the background, even when the main application is not open and even when there is no one logged in. It is essential that it does so to keep your Mac protected at all times.

Q. How often should I check for Updates? 
A. We recommend that you check daily, which is the default preference setting. Update checks happen automatically in the background and any updates will be installed without user intervention, however, you can select “Check For Updates” from the menu bar icon or application’s Updating preferences at any time to perform an update check.

Q. Are scheduled update checks performed when the main application is not running?  
A. Yes. Update checks happen in the background and are not reliant on the main application being open. Also, any updates that are downloaded are installed automatically without the need for you to do anything. If the main application is running and a component of it is updated, it will be closed and relaunched after the update has completed.

Q. If I delete or repair a file using ProtectWorks AntiVirus, can I recover the original file? 
A. Yes. When you delete or repair a file containing a threat the original file is stored in the Quarantine backup. The file will remain in the Quarantine backup until the entry has been cleared from the list, at which time the original file will be purged from the backup and it will not be possible to perform a restore operation.

Q. What affect does the 'clear' buttons have on an entry Quarantine list? 
A. If the file has been deleted or repaired then the original file is purged from the Quarantine backup and the entry is removed from the list. It will not be possible to restore the original file from the Quarantine backup once the entry has been removed from the list.

If the file has NOT been deleted or repaired then the entry is cleared from the list and the file containing the threat remains in the original location. Note, access to the file will not be possible, as soon as an attempt is made to use the file ProtectWorks AntiVirus will prevent access and a new entry will appear in the Quarantine.

Q. Can I set a schedule to scan my FileVault?  
A. Yes. But be aware that your FileVault is encrypted and that the files are only accessible when you are logged into your Mac.

Q. Do scheduled scans work when the main application is not running?  
A. Yes. Scheduled scans run in the background, however, if you are using a MacBook or MacBook Pro then the computer's lid needs to be open for the scan to run.

Q. How do I prevent a scan I started in the main application from stopping when I quit ProtectWorks AntiVirus?  
A. Create a Scheduled Scan of the item (the schedule itself can be disabled). This will allow you to manually start the scan, which will run in the background when the application is closed. Alternatively, highlight the item in Finder and ctrl-click or right-click with your mouse and select ‘Scan With ProtectWorks AntiVirus’ from the menu.

Q. I have cleared the Threat Database View and the History view and now can’t find any information about the threat that was detected, how do I find out where the threat was located?  
A. Unless you have deleted the file in question, rescanning your Mac will detect any threats that are still present and the original threat will reappear in the Threat Database and History view. Alternatively, if you have 'Logging' enabled then details of the threat will be in the log file. Note, however, if you have logging archiving enabled, the information may be in one of the archived log files.

Q. Can I run ProtectWorks AntiVirus on my Mac if I am also running a virtual Windows environment like Parallels or VMWare Fusion?  
A. Yes. ProtectWorks AntiVirus will prevent any threats from being copied between macOS and your virtual Windows machine. However, macOS applications do not have complete access to all the files within your virtual environment, therefore, to fully protect your Windows environment you should also run a Windows antivirus solution on your virtual machine.

Q. I have disabled automatic volume scanning, how do I scan a removable volume when it is mounted?  
A. Insert the removable device (DVD, USB device etc) and it will automatically appear in the ProtectWorks AntiVirus application window. Choose the device in the list and select scan (or double-click it). Even easier, right click the disk on the desktop and choose ‘Scan With ProtectWorks AntiVirus.’ from the menu.

Q. How do I add an invisible folder to the FileSafe Preferences?  
A. There are two ways of doing this. Either, type '/' in the folder selector sheet, which will open a pop-up window and allow you to type in the desired path. Or, launch the Terminal application and type in the command, open foldername, where foldername is the parent folder of the desired location. This will open the parent folder in a Finder window and allow you to drag and drop the desired folder to the FileSafe Preferences list.

Q. Why is the scan reporting more files than I can see in my folder?  
A. You will quite often see a greater number of files reported during a scan than is visible in folders and on disks, this is because hidden files are also scanned.

Q. Why am I occasionally asked for a username and password?  
A. Certain features and preferences of ProtectWorks AntiVirus can only be accessed if you have administrator privileges on your Mac. However, even if you are logged in with admin rights, for added security, you may still be asked to enter a password the first time you attempt to perform certain functions, for example, disabling the on-access scanner, disabling updating or stopping a scheduled scan.

Q. Why do I have 'Cancelled scan' entries in my History log?  
A. 'Cancelled scan' entries will appear in your History log whenever you stop a running scan or whenever a removable disk or mounted dmg file (disk image) is unmounted while being scanned. The latter can occur during the installation of software on your Mac that mount and unmount temporary disk images during their installation process when the (default) ProtectWorks AntiVirus option 'Automatically scan volumes as they are mounted' is enabled.

Q. Can I reinstall another Trial version once the previous Trial has expired?  
A. No. It is not possible to install a subsequent Trial version once the previous Trial has expired

Q. Does ProtectWorks AntiVirus scan for non-Macintosh threats?  
A. Yes. As well as detecting malware that runs on macOS, whether that's native code or cross-platform application threats such as Microsoft Office threats, if you dual-boot or share files with non-Mac users it is also important to detect non-Mac threats. Hence, ProtectWorks AntiVirus detects both Mac and non-Mac viruses, worms, trojans and spyware.

Q. Does ProtectWorks AntiVirus scan inside archive files?  
A. ProtectWorks AntiVirus always scans inside archive files during user and scheduled scans. You can also configure it, via the Advanced Preferences, to scan archive files automatically when they are written to disk.

Q. Why is the ProtectWorks AntiVirus Icon not visible in the Menu bar? 
A. The display of the ProtectWorks icon is controlled by a checkbox in the application’s Advanced preferences. Got to the application’s Advance preferences and ensure that the “Show ProtectWorks AntiVirus in the menu bar” checkbox is selected.

Q. Do I need to be an administrator to stop a Scheduled Scan?  
A. If you manually started a Scheduled Scan then you can stop it without authenticating, however, if the Scheduled Scan has been started by the schedule condition being met or because of a virus identity update then you will be asked to authenticate and enter Admin credentials to stop the scan.

Q. How do I uninstall ProtectWorks AntiVirus? 
A. To uninstall ProtectWorks AntiVirus select Uninstall ProtectWorks AntiVirus from the Help menu.

Alternatively, run the uninstaller application located in "/Library/Application Support/ProtectWorks AntiVirus" in the root of your boot disk (not your home folder Library location). The uninstaller is called "Uninstall ProtectWorks AntiVirus".

In addition, the disk image you downloaded to install ProtectWorks AntiVirus contains the Uninstaller application.