Loughborough University
Leicestershire, UK
LE11 3TU
+44 (0)1509 263171

IT Services - Staff

Security

Anti Virus Software Frequently Asked Questions

General

How can I check which version of McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise I am running and what patch it is running?

Right click on the virus shield icon in the system tray and select About Viruscan, and the window below will be displayed. The title of the window will indicate which version of McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise you have installed on the machine. Scroll to the bottom of the window which says Installed Patches which tells you which patch you currently have installed.

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Will my PC run slower after installing Anti Virus software?

Anti Virus will not noticeably impact on the performance of your machine. If you notice any performance degradation please check you do not have another virus checker running at the same time. Do not alter the settings of Anti Virus software, this could cause performance issues.

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If it is running all the time, do I need to do complete scans of my disk(s)?

In theory, No, but it is recommended you scan you entire hard disks for viruses once a week using McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise as a precaution.

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New viruses are detected regularly, will the checker be able to detect these?

Users of the Staff Desktop system:

McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise will attempt to upgrade itself daily with new virus signature files. These files are produced by McAfee and downloaded for internal distribution. The upgrade automatically occurs in the early hours of each morning. It is updated automatically by so that we can all be protected from the latest viruses that appear every day. It may change more often depending on the viruses that become prominent at the time, and emergencies.

Nevertheless, every time a new virus is written and released it may not be detectable until McAfee have investigated it and updated their virus signature files.

Portable Computers and Laptops must be regularly connected to the Internet to ensure that the system is kept up to date. If for any reason you are unable to connect to the network for longer than four weeks, please contact your local IT support person or IT Services on your return so the Anti Virus updates can be manually installed before you connect to the network.

You are able to manually upgrade your software at any time see Staff Desktop Anti-Virus information www.lboro.ac.uk/it/desktop/anti-virus.html.

Other users:

You must regularly (at least once per week) upgrade the virus scan engine and dat files:
1. If you are off campus, connect to the Internet via broadband or a dial-up modem.
2. Right-click on the VirusScan Console Icon in the system tray (bottom right-hand corner).
3. Select Update Now. This will start the McAfee Update.
4. The latest McAfee engine and dat files will then be fetched and installed. You should upgrade these files immediately after installing the software and frequently thereafter. The files on the virus-upgrade server are updated daily.
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I would like my virus checker to upgrade itself at another time. Can I get it to do this?

Users of the Staff Desktop XP service cannot change their schedule. The system is configured so that if you miss a scheduled update, the next time you start up the computer connected to the network, the update will take place whatever the time.

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How can I find out more information about a virus (or, possibly, a virus hoax)?

A virus hoax can be an e-mail which claims that you have been infected by an earlier e-mail. The hoax may even ask you to delete a file; the file may not be infected and may be an important part of your system, so that your deleting the file is what causes the problem. See also E-mail and Internet Scams and Viruses www.lboro.ac.uk/it/mail/scam.html.

To find out more about both viruses and hoaxes, visit the McAfee Virus Information Library, http://vil.nai.com/vil/default.aspx, and use their alphabetical list or search facilities. The McAfee Virus Hoax Page, http://vil.nai.com/vil/hoaxes.aspx, lists all known virus hoaxes.

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How can I install Virus Protection software on Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003?

You can use the same installer that is available from the main Anti Virus web pages as this installer will work on: Windows 2000 Professional (or Server), Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server, or Windows Vista.

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I would like to install Anti Virus software at home, but I am not on broadband and therefore the download is slow. Have you got a copy on CDROM?

You can obtain a Anti Virus CDROM from our Service Desk free of charge with the latest software ready to install.

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I am off campus, can I still update my Virus DAT files?

The Anti Virus software is configured to fetch its DAT file updates directly from McAfee if it cannot contact the Loughborough site. This also allows users to fetch DAT file updates from behind a firewall which only allows web based traffic (port 80).

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I have heard there is an Anti Adware / Spyware module, but I cannot see it when I install the Anti Virus software. Why is this?

Computing Service have licensed the McAfee Antispyware program to be used by members of Staff and Students at work or at home. There is no longer an additional charge. Downloading the latest version of the McAfee Installer will provide the new module, it is not available as a separate package. We have also produced a Best Practice Guide www.lboro.ac.uk/it/security/ad-spyware.html.

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McAfee reports that a file cannot be cleaned or quarantined, what do I do?

The file will probably have to be removed whilst Windows is in Safe Mode. If you are unsure how to proceed, contact your local IT Support Staff www.lboro.ac.uk/faculty/fitcs/support.html or for further advice.

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I am an Apple Macintosh user and I cannot download the Virex software.

now provides Sophos for Apple Macintosh machines, this is under a similar agreement to the McAfee VirusScan product and therefore allows use by Staff and Students at both work and home. This can be downloaded from the main Anti Virus web pages at www.lboro.ac.uk/it/security/antivirus.html.

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I have Microsoft Windows Vista installed on my computer, which version of Anti Virus software do I need?

Only recent versions of the anti virus software, McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise 8.5i Patch 5 or above, are compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista.

Installing previous versions of McAfee Virus Scan on Microsoft Windows Vista may render the operating system unstable.

Download McAfee Anti Virus 8.5i Patch 5 from https://internal.lboro.ac.uk/restricted/cc/AntiVirus/McAfee/
McAfeeVirusScan85.exe.

Once that is installed, an upgrade to Patch 6.1 has been made available for download. Instructions on how to upgrade the Virus Scanner to Patch 6.1.

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I have a Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0 or ME computer and I want to install Anti Virus software.

McAfee no longer publishes virus definition updates for VirusScan version 4.51, which is the last version that supports Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0 and ME. More recent versions, Version 7.1 and 8.0i, do not work for Windows 98 / ME and earlier operating systems. The University cannot provide Anti Virus Software for Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0 or ME, therefore the computer should not be connected to the campus network and we recommend that the computer is replaced as soon as possible.

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I need McAfee for Netware. What's available?

McAfee Multiplatform 4.5.1 is no longer supported by McAfee. McAfee still support NetShield for Netware which is at version 4.6.3 (as of 31 May 2007). We can provide copies of that, however can offer no support for that product directly or indirectly via McAfee.

We are currently revising our Anti Virus strategy for Unix / Linux and will shortly be announcing our recommendations and configuration notes.

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McAfee Virus Scan 8.5

I already have version 7 installed, do I need to upgrade and if so, how?

Version 8.5 of McAfee offers a lot more functionality than Version 7, and allows the use of the anti-Ad/Spyware module.

To upgrade from version 7 to version 8.5, download the package from https://internal.lboro.ac.uk/restricted/cc/Antivirus/Mcafee/
McAfeeVirusScan85.exe, remove version 7 from Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel, and then install the downloaded exe file.

Once you have installed the package, an upgrade to patch 6.1 has been made available for download. Instructions on how to upgrade the Virus Scanner to Patch 6.1.

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I need to disable On-Access Scan but the option has been grayed out. What should I do?

This is a feature built into the build of McAfee 8.5 to prevent the McAfee Services from being stopped. It is recommended that McAfee's On-Access Scan never be disabled.

If you need to disable this feature:
1. Right-click on the McAfee V Shield in the system tray.
2. Select VirusScan console.
3. Right-click Access Protection and select Properties.
4. When the Access Protection Properties dialogue is shown, ensure that the Access Protection tab is selected:
5. Deselect the Prevent McAfee Services from being stopped checkbox. Click OK.
6. This will now enable you to disable the On-Access Scan:
  
  Right-click on the McAfee V Shield in the system tray and select Disable On-Access Scan.
Ensure that if you disable the On-Access Scan, you re-enable this feature.

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I am receiving e-mails which contain attachments from a valid source but McAfee keeps on moving the e-mail into the Quarantine Folder within Outlook. What should I do?

A possible cause for this is if the file name of the attachment has got multiple extensions e.g.: example.123.doc. Virus Writers have packaged up viruses within applications with multiple file extensions to confuse the users and trick them into opening the application.

The settings to disable this feature in McAfee VirusScan Enterprise:
1. From the system tray right click on the V shield and select VirusScan Console.
2. From the VirusScan Console right click On-Delivery E-mail Scanner and select Properties.
3. From the On-Delivery E-mail Scan Properties dialogue box, select the Advanced settings from the tabs along the top of the dialog box. Untick Find attachments with multiple extensions and Apply all settings.
This should allow your attachments to arrive in your Inbox rather than Quarantine.

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I've installed McAfee Virus Scan 8.5 and when I try to open Microsoft Outlook I get an error: 'The add-in "....\VirusScan\scanemal.dll" could not be installed or loaded. This problem may be resolved by using detect and repair on the help menu.' What can I do?

When this occurs you need to delete EXTEND.DAT file while Microsoft Outlook is closed. This will force Outlook to create a new EXTEND.DAT file next time it is launched.

The default location for EXTEND.DAT file is: C:\Documents and Settings\user account\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

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When my McAfee Anti Virus is doing its daily updates my computer seems to be freezing for about 1 to 3 minutes. During this time, I am unable to do anything with my computer. What can I do?

McAfee have provided a hotfix for this issue. The fix has been tested and resolves the issue.

The hotfix can be downloaded at the bottom of the McAfee Knowledge base article 612309.

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McAfee Virus Scan 8.0

I currently have McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise 8.0 installed do I need to upgrade to version 8.5?
It is advised to upgrade to the latest version of Virus Scan Enterprise as this will help with the performance and detection of viruses.

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I get a McLogEvent error in the the Application Event Log on my computer. What do I do?

This is a known problem with the McAfee Virus Scan 8.0i software. We have a support case raised with McAfee currently. If the error message is "Task Manager : Service Error : MID ConfigurationApplicator: Applying VirusScan settings failed. (0012)" the fix is to to remove the MIDFileTime value in the registry. This is located at \\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Network Associates\TVD\VirusScanEnterprise\CurrentVersion\.

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When installing McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise 8.0i, I get the error message "Failed to initialize Common Updater subsystem. make sure the McAfee Framework Service is running. McAfee Common Framework returned error 80040154 @1". What do I do?

You need to uninstall the "Common Framework". Run FRMINST /FORCEUNINSTALL from \Program Files\Network Associates\Common Framework. Then remove VirusScan via Add/Remove Programs, reboot, and attempt the installation again.

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I find the search facility in Microsoft Windows slows down the computer so it is un-usable. What do I do?

We strongly recommend that if you are experiencing this problem, you upgrade to version 8.5 of McAfee. Full installation instructions are available at www.lboro.ac.uk/it/security/antivirus.html.

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When updating McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise 8.0i manually I get the error message "Failed to initialize common updater subsystem, Make sure the McAfee Framework Services is running, McAfee Common Framework returned error ffffffdf@3". What do I do?

You will need to Re-Register the OLE32.DLL to Re-Populate the Registry. To do this please do the following:-
1. Click Start, then Run, and in the Open text box type:
  
  Regsvr32.exe %Windir%\System32\Ole32.dll
2. A RegSvr32 popup message states: DllRegisterServer in C:\WINNT\System32\ole32.dll succeeded.
  
  Click OK.
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