Installing McAfee VirusScan for Windows

published by the ISU Solution Center

Handout WVT 290 / March 2006

Overview

Virus authors are writing viruses primarily for the Windows platforms. If you own a Windows system, you have a good chance of getting a computer virus. Current anti-virus software is the very best way to prevent a computer virus. Iowa State University has a site license for a very good anti-virus system, McAfee VirusScan Enterprise. VirusScan Enterprise supports Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows 2003 Server.

1 Components That Need Regular Updating

VirusScan has three components that you must continually update.

The base product is installed when you first install VirusScan. The base product is updated every two to three years, usually when major changes are made in the software. The current version is 8.0i.
The virus signature files are sometimes called "the DAT files"; they contain bits of information called virus signatures. VirusScan searches files for the virus signatures to determine if the file is infected. If your DAT files aren't up-to-date, VirusScan won't recognize new viruses. The DAT files are normally updated daily, but the discovery of an extremely dangerous virus may prompt McAfee to release new DAT files early. VirusScan has a feature that automatically updates the DAT files. If you have an Ethernet connection, we recommend that you enable AutoUpdate and schedule the update daily. If you have a PPP connection, we recommend that you set VirusScan to automatically update on dialup. When you install VirusScan with Micronet Scout, it will ask you questions and set one of these options for you. The "ISU Tips" item that Scout installs under Start -> All Programs -> Network Associates describes other AutoUpdate options that you may find useful.
The scan engine is the part of VirusScan that actually scans for and removes viruses. The scan engine is updated whenever a new virus appears that can't be detected or removed with changes to the virus signature files. The scan engine is updated when needed, usually every twelve to eighteen months. If you don't upgrade the scan engine, two things may happen:

Your VirusScan may not be able to detect new viruses even if you have the right virus signature files, or it may not be able to remove viruses even if it can detect them.
Updating the virus signature files may cause VirusScan to stop working, or even may prevent your computer from working correctly, if the scan engine is not up-to-date.

If you have set VirusScan to automatically update the virus definitions, it will update the scan engine when necessary. Updating the scan engine will usually require you to restart Windows. You'll be notified by a pop-up window if this is necessary.

2 Distribution of McAfee VirusScan

McAfee VirusScan is available from the Solution Center, 195 Durham Center. It is distributed in three ways:

With Scout. Scout is the Solution Center's automated software installation program. If you have a copy of Scout, you can automatically download, install, and configure VirusScan (among other things). You can find Scout installation instructions online at http://www.it.iastate.edu/pub/windows.html. Once Scout is installed, you can install VirusScan just by clicking on the "VirusScan (antivirus)" button in Scout.
Download from website at https://www.sitelicensed.iastate.edu/. This website contains both the original McAfee installation files (for the use of campus IT staff) and a version customized for Iowa State. Connecting to this website requires you to enter your Iowa State Net-ID and password. Once there, follow the links to Windows, then VirusScan. The installer is contained in a Zip archive; you'll have to extract the files to a folder to run the installer.
From CD. The Solution Center will make you a copy of a CD that you can use to install VirusScan and the current virus definition files. (Note: You will need an Internet connection to easily keep the virus signatures up-to-date.)

3 Important Notes

3.1 Uninstalling Previous Anti-Virus Software

Anti-virus packages, especially from different manufacturers, don't get along. If you manage to install two conflicting anti-virus programs, it can result in General Protection Faults, Dr. Watson crashes, and even the "Blue Screen of Death". Your system can become totally unusable.

The installer for VirusScan does detect and remove many common anti-virus packages, but it is not always successful at removing them. Before installing or updating VirusScan, we recommend that you remove any previous anti-virus program. To uninstall a previous anti-virus program, click Start, then Control Panel. Double-click on Add/Remove Programs. Select the anti-virus software, click Add/Remove and follow the prompts.

3.2 Multiple Restarts May Be Necessary

When you use Scout to install McAfee VirusScan, you are actually performing as many as three tasks:

Remove previous anti-virus software.
Install a current copy of the Microsoft Windows Installer.
Install McAfee VirusScan itself.

Depending on your version of Windows, a reboot may be required between each task. You may find yourself restarting your machine as many as three times. We are sorry for the inconvenience but there's no way around this situation.

The download for McAfee VirusScan is more than 12 MB. Because of that, we strongly recommend that you not try to download VirusScan via PPP. If you value your time and sanity, get a CD from Solution Center in 195 Durham Center instead.

Departmental computer coordinators who maintain VirusScan for a large number of Windows machines may be interested in ePolicy Orchestrator, a tool allowing to you push updates to a large number of client computers from a central server. A department can either run its own ePO server or use the IT Services ePO server; there is currently no charge for this service. For more information, contact Jeff Balvanz (jbalvanz@iastate.edu) or Al Day (alday@iastate.edu).

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Installing McAfee VirusScan for Windows was written by Wayne Hauber and Jeff Balvanz.
For more assistance, contact the Solution Center, 195 Durham Center, 515-294-4000 or send email to solution@iastate.edu.