Frequently Asked Questions About McAfee VirusScan Enterprise
Q) Why has OIT chosen to provide students, faculty and staff
with
McAfee VirusScan over Norton Anti-Virus?
A) The University System of Maryland sought to procure a cost-effective
enterprise licensing agreement with an anti-virus software vendor.
No offer was received from Symantec (makers of Norton Anti-Virus) or from
any Symantec resellers. Of the offers received, a McAfee reseller
made the best financial offer that met all of the USM technical requirements.
Q) Can I download and install this software on my home computer
as
well as my university computer?
A) Yes, our licensing agreement allows you to install the software on
any system you own.
Q) If my Windows 2000/XP/Vista computer is already running
VirusScan 4.5.1 and everything seems to be working just fine, do I need to
upgrade to VirusScan 8 right away?
A) Yes, if your computer is running VirusScan 4.5.1 then you should upgrade to VirusScan
8. Network Associates (makers of VirusScan) stopped providing updates
for VirusScan 4.5.1 on June 30, 2004. McAfee is still providing DAT file updates for VirusScan
4.5.1.
Q) If my Windows 2000/XP/Vista computer is already running
VirusScan 7 and everything seems to be working just fine, do I need to
upgrade to VirusScan 8 right away?
A) No, you can continue to use VirusScan 7 if you wish. We would still
advise you to upgrade to VirusScan 8 at your earliest convenience. McAfee is still providing
DAT file updates for VirusScan 7.
Q) Can I keep the VirusScan or NetShield software on my system
even after I leave the university?
A) Yes, you can--our licensing agreement states that the software will
not expire at any time. However, if you rely on the university for
your Internet connection, you will need to find another means to connect
to the Internet in order to keep VirusScan or Netshield up-to-date.
Q) If I dial in to the university using my WAM account, how
will my McAfee VirusScan be updated?
A) When you download the VirusScan 8i software, you are given a choice
between downloading the "network" version or the "dialup" version.
The "dialup" version of McAfee VirusScan is scheduled to try and update
itself automatically right after your computer establishes an Internet
connection via your modem. It will only update itself once a day (even if
you dial-up numerous times during the day).
Q) My VirusScan/NetShield software does not seem to be
updating automatically as often as it should. Is there a way I can
manually update the software?
A) There are two ways you can manually update the software. One
way is to go to the McAfee corporate edition website (www.mcafee.com),
click on Downloads, then click on DAT
Updates. There
you will find download links for both the DAT File and the SuperDAT file
(the first two links). Click on and download the SuperDAT file, then
double-click on the downloaded file to fully update your software.
The other way to update the software is through the VirusScan/NetShield
Console component. VirusScan
users can open the VirusScan Console by clicking on Start |
Programs
| McAee | VirusScan Console. Once the console
window
is open, select AutoUpdate from the list of tasks and
then click
on the Start button to perform the update (remember that
you will
need to be connected to the Internet at the time you perform this operation).
Q) When VirusScan tries to run AutoUpdate automatically, or
when I try to run AutoUpdate manually, I get an error regarding the
Framework service or the Common Updater Subsystem, and the update
fails. Besides manually downloading the latest SuperDAT file, is there
anything I can do to correct this problem?
A) McAfee, the company that makes VirusScan, does have a
set of instructions that can help you fix the problem. These instructions
are lengthy and do involve editing the
registry, so make sure that you read them carefully.
The instructions are available on the McAfee
site.
Q) Ever since I installed VirusScan Enterprise,
my Outlook e-mail program has been running very slowly at
times. Does VirusScan scan e-mail for viruses, and if so is
that the cause of the problem?
A) VirusScan Enterprise does scan messages that come in via Outlook,
and it can cause Outlook to slow down when it tries to scan e-mail
containing large attachments.
The solution is to turn off the e-mail scanning feature of VirusScan
Enterprise. If you are using new Mail@umd e-mail system, disabling this
scanning feature will not increase your risk of receiving a virus because
Mail@umd scans all incoming and outgoing e-mail messages for viruses.
To turn off the e-mail scanning feature, click on the
Start,
choose
Programs or All Programs, choose
McAfee, and choose VirusScan
Console. When the Console window appears, right-click on
E-mail Scan in the list of tasks and choose
Disable. Then close the
VirusScanConsole window.
Q) What information is there about Patch 1 for VirusScan 8.5i?
A) While a patch is not required to be installed for the proper operation
of VirusScan, it is recommended to ensure that VirusScan remains compatible
with your installed operating system and software. McAfee patches often
include fixes for bugs that have been encountered after the product has been
released. The patch must be downloaded and installed manually unlike virus
definitions. For information on what fixes the latest patch includes, please
click the following link:
http://knowledge.mcafee.com/article/970/612364_f.SAL_Public.html.
Q) What information is there about Patch 15 for VirusScan Enterprise
8.0.i?
A) While a patch is not required to be installed for the proper operation
of VirusScan, it is recommended to ensure that VirusScan remains compatible
with your installed operating system and software. McAfee patches often
include fixes for bugs that have been encountered after the product has been
released. The patch must be downloaded and installed manually unlike virus
definitions. For information on what fixes the latest patch includes, please
click the following link:
http://knowledge.mcafee.com/article/646/9019409_f.SAL_Public.html.
Q) How do I find out what Patch version is installed on my computer?
Right click the Vshield icon in your system tray, then select About
Virus Scan Enterprise. McAfee users should see the following versions:
McAfee 8.5i users: Patch version should be 1
If not, click on
Patch
1 for the new
version
McAfee 8.0 users: Patch version should be 15
If not click on
Patch
15 for the new
version
If you have questions or problems installing the patch, contact the
Help
Desk.
To learn how to sign up to receive alerts via e-mail about any new viruses
that threaten the university, click on the Virus Notification Page.
To return to the main VNP web page, click on the the Virus
Notification Program FAQ.
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