what is on-access scanning?

on-access scanning is a type of known-malware scanning that scans file system objects when they get accessed (hence on-access)...

also known as real-time scanning or background scanning, this is the type of anti-malware protection that people are most familiar with as it comes closest to implementing the install-and-forget model that they've been tricked into expecting from anti-malware vendors...

this is also the type of scanning that shouldn't be performed by more than one product at the same time (and thus the reason anti-malware vendors use to justify suggesting you uninstall their competitors products before you install theirs)... when multiple on-access scanners are fighting over access to a file it can lead to unpredictable and undesirable results...

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