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AVIRA Virus Definition File History
The VDF file (usually named avira.vdf) contains all the signatures used by AVIRA engine to detect malware.
Usually, AVIRA offers updates for VDF files several times per day, ensuring that your AVIRA products always detect the latest electronic threats. Therefore, having an up-to-date VDF file is vital for the safety of your computer.
Virus Definition File
The VDF file contains all the signatures used by AVIRA engine to detect malware.
Starting with AVIRA Engine version 6.33, the incremental VDF update
is supported by all AVIRA solutions for Unix and AVIRA for Windows Server. The incremental VDF Updates method consists in having the virus definitions into four files, designed for different update intervals, allowing updates grouping on a monthly, weekly or daily basis. Said files are named avira0.vdf, avira1.vdf, avira2.vdf, and avira3.vdf, corresponding to the above-stated periods.
AVIRA Desktop for Windows does not currently support the VDF incremental update. In this case, the Virus Definition File is named avira.vdf.
Usually, AVIRA offers updates for VDF files several times per day, ensuring that your AVIRA products always detect the latest electronic threats. Therefore, having an up-to-date VDF file is vital for the safety of your computer.
Each VDF file has a version formed by 4 groups of numbers (e.g. 6.28.00.02). You can find the latest version of AVIRA VDF file on our website.
To find out what VDF file version you have in your AVIRA solution please follow the instructions below:
Unix solutions: run from the command line "avira --version", and check the "VDF Version" and "VDF date" output fields.
Windows solutions: open "Help" -> "About AVIRA" -> "Version Information" screen.
It is not recommended to manually install the VDF file, because the VDF version must be compatible with the engine and the product version. You should use instead the update utilities of the AVIRA products. These tools check if your system is compatible with the new VDF file before performing the current update.