In what sequence does antivirus software scan?

Question

Antivirus

network folders
RAM
removable devices
disk devices
or something like that?

Answer 1

First of all, antivirus software protects itself. Without this protection, the virus can simply turn off the antivirus, and continue to do its dirty deeds. Ironic.
Further, anti-virus software "hung up" on the launch of new files to prevent the activation of new viruses. That is, without knowing whether there is a working virus in the system or not, the antivirus prevents the intervention of new viruses. And if during the scan the user launches a new executable file, the scan will be interrupted and the file will be analyzed, something like this. Well, in fact, these are parallel tasks, but for ease of understanding, we can assume that they are in one thread.
Next, the anti-virus software scans the RAM, because it is in it that the active (working) virus sits. After all, if a virus is in an executable file, but has not yet been launched, then this is not an active virus, it is not dangerous until it is launched.
Well, if there is nothing in the RAM, then it is most likely considered clean, and everything else is already a matter of technology. That is, it does not matter further in what order to check. You can first removable devices, then network, or vice versa. However, it is wise to check the system partitions (operating system files) first in case the user wants to abort the scan early. That is, the order is no longer important, but it is better to start with more critical and potentially dangerous places. And so this is a matter for each antivirus separately.