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USING MCAFEE ANTI-VIRUS ON A WINDOWS PC
The most recent release of McAfee anti-virus software available to members of Queen Mary is VirusScan Enterprise 8.7i (released in September 2008). This version is suitable for installation with Windows 2000(SP4), Windows XP and Windows Vista. All users of these versions of the Windows OS should install the latest version of VirusScan 8.7i by following the installation instructions given below, or by asking the School’s IT Support staff for help in installing it.
1.
INSTALLATION
The VirusScan software can only be downloaded when you on a QMUL campus network. The instructions for installing version 8.7 are as follows:
1. Using a web-browser open the FTP download site :
ftp://ftp.software.qmul.ac.uk/antivirus/nai/software/virusscan/winnt_2000_xp/VirusScan8.7/
2. Download the ZIP file containing the main application : VSE870LML.zip (save it to a location on your hard disc)
3. If a patch is present, then also download this patch : VSE87P*.zip (where * is the patch number; save it to a location on your hard disc)
4. Locate the saved ZIP files, and right-click on each, and select "Extract" – this will generate two folders with the same names as the original ZIP files.
5. Open the folder VSE870LML, locate the file SetupVSE.exe and double-click on it
(if you are logged-in as a limited/standard user, then right-click on the exe file and select "Run as ...", select your administrator-level account, and enter the appropriate password). 6. Follow the instructions for the installation – you are recommended to select the "Typical"
installation. You can select either “Standard protection” or "Maximum protection" (the latter is more effective, but you will then find that you need to disable "Access Protection" before installing software, or copying files to certain system folders)
7. When the installation has finished you will be prompted to immediately update the software, and run a full system scan.
8. If there is a patch to install then you should now locate the folder VSE87P*, open it, locate the Setup.exe file and double-click on it (if you are logged-in as a limited/standard user, then right-click on the exe file and select "Run as ...", select your administrator-level account, and enter the appropriate password).
Now check the configuration of the anti-virus software as described in the next section of these instructions - specifically:
1. if the PC is required to be left on overnight, then adjust the updating schedule (as described in section 2.2) and also schedule regular system scans during the night (as described in section 2.3)
2. if the PC is not regularly left on overnight (which should be the case for most desktop PCs), then the configuration generated by the typical installation (update at startup) is the most appropriate. You may still choose to schedule regular system scans at a convenient time – such as over-lunch (as described in section 2.3)
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2.
CONFIGURATION
In order to be effective, the ANTI-VIRUS software must download updates to its virus signature files (DAT files) on a daily basis.
When you use the "Typical" installation described in the installation instructions given at the end of this document, the anti-virus software should update on Startup (i.e. when you switch the machine on in a morning). This is OK for users who do switch-off their PC each night, which is the best option for most users. However, if the PC is frequently left-on overnight then you must change these settings.
2.1
HOW TO CHECK IF YOUR ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE IS UP-TO-DATE
To check if your anti-virus is updating regularly look for the shield in the system tray (normally in the bottom-right corner of the screen) and right-click on this shield. This will bring-up a menu of
options.
Now click (left-click) on About VirusScan Enterprise. This will bring-up a window similar to that shown below:
Right-click with the mouse on the shield-icon (McAfee OAS) to bring-up the menu.
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Firstly – check that you are running the a sufficiently up-to-date version of the software and have any patches installed. In the above illustration the installed version is 8.5.0i, with Patch 4.
If you are running this older version then you should follow the INSTALLATION instructions given in Section 1, in order to install the more recent 8.7i version.
Secondly - check that the date shown adjacent to the "DAT Created On" (circled above, and indicated by the red arrow) is the current date, or no more than a day or two earlier.
If the date of the DAT file is more than several day's out-of-date, then there is something wrong with your anti-virus update configuration, and you need to continue following these instructions.
Close the "About VirusScan Enterprise" window by clicking on the OK button.
2.2
HOW TO CONFIGURE THE UPDATING SCHEDULE
Right-click on the shield in the system tray – now click on VirusScan Console. This will bring-up a window similar to that shown below:
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Double-click on AutoUpdate ; this will bring-up the window shown in the left-hand pane below (screen 1). If you now click on the Schedule button, you will bring-up the window shown in the right-hand pane below (screen 2).
Screen 1 Screen 2
At the top you will see two tabs; click on the Schedule tab to obtain the window shown below (screen 3) – this shows that updates are downloaded "At Startup" which is the appropriate setup for a user who always switches off their PC every evening (which is recommended). However, if the PC is regularly left on overnight then you need to change the schedule so that the update task is run "Daily" at a particular time. You should also ensure that you tick the "Run if missed" box, so that it will still update if it is unable to do so at the scheduled time.
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2.3
HOW TO CONFIGURE REGULAR SYSTEM SCANS
Your PC should be protected by the “On Access” scanner, which is enabled by default and checks each file that is read from, or written to, your hard disc. However, it is also a good idea to schedule a regular daily scan of your hard disc. Instructions on how to do this are given below.
Right-click on the shield in the system tray – now click on VirusScan Console. This will bring-up a window similar to that shown below:
Double-click on Full Scan ; this will bring-up the window shown in the left-hand pane below (screen 5). If you now click on the Schedule button, this will bring-up the window shown in the right-hand pane below (screen 6). Click in the box adjacent to “Enable (scheduled task ….)”.
Screen 5 Screen 6
At the top of the window shown in screen 6 you will see two tabs; click on the Schedule tab and then select the time at which you want the full system scan to occur. Be aware that the scan may affect the performance of your PC. If the system is left-on overnight (not generally recommended) then you should schedule the scan to occur during the night.
