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Updating virus protection

Purchasing virus protection and installing it on your computer isn't enough. You must update your virus protection on a weekly (if not daily basis). New viruses are discovered every day and in order for the virus software to be able to detect and clean new viruses you must update a special file called the "dat" file. Here are instructions to manually update the "dat" files in Norton and Mcafee:

Norton Antivirus - Click Start > Programs > Norton Antivirus > Live Update - Norton Antivirus. You do not need to change any settings, click the Next button until you get a pop-up box asking you to click OK, click OK and click Finish. Reboot your machine if prompted to.

McAfee Antivirus - Click Start > Programs > Network Associates > Virus Scan Console. At the Virus Scan Console dialog box right click Auto Update and then click Start.

Scheduling virus protection - It's a good idea to schedule the virus protection software to automatically update the "dat" files:

Norton Antivirus - Start > Programs > Norton Antivirus > Norton Antivirus (2001). Click Scheduling > Add Event. The Scheduling Wizard will appear, click Next. Click Schedule LiveUpdate to update your virus protection and click Next. Type Update Virus Scan in the Event Name box and click Next. Select the frequency of the update (I update Daily) and click Next. Set the time of day that you want the update to run (The machine must be turned and connected to the Internet in order for the update to be performed, so try and schedule a time that you know you will be on-line. If the machine is not on at the scheduled time, the update will run as soon as the machine is turned on.) and click Next and click Finish.

McAfee - Start > Programs > Network Associates > VirusScan Console. Right click the AutoUpdate item in the VirusScan Console window and click Properties. Click the Schedule tab. I schedule my virus protection to Run Daily, Start at 16:00 (4:00 p.m.). Schedule your protection to run whenever it's convenient for you. (The machine must be turned and connected to the Internet in order for the update to be performed, so try and schedule a time that you know you will be on-line. If the machine is not on at the scheduled time, the update will run as soon as the machine is turned on.). After deciding your schedule, click OK and Close the VirusScan Console Window.

Scanning a file or disk

If you receive a file from someone via email or on disk or if you download a file, scan it for viruses before you open it. You can easily scan for viruses in My Computer or Windows Explorer by right clicking the file or drive (a: or any other drive) that you want to scan and selecting Scan for Viruses (McAfee) or Scan with Norton Antivirus (Norton).

Setting Up Message Rules - I have tutorials for setting up message rules in Outlook, Outlook Express and Incredimail here.

Always be sure to disable your virus protection before you install any software. For Mcafee Right click the Shield icon on the taskbar > Click Quick Enable > System Scan. For Norton Right click the Computer icon and select Disable.

Other Virus Protection Programs

If you have a system that does not have virus protection on it and you cannot afford to purchase it, here are some free or low-cost programs:

AntiVir Personal Edition - Free Anti-Virus software.
MailWasher - A small utility that allows you to check email on your server and helps to eliminate spam. The program detects possible viruses on the server and highlights them in red so you can easily identify messages containing viruses and delete them.
WormGuard - A small utility for blocking worms. Free for 30 days to try, $29.99 to purchase.
VCatch - A free email virus scan program. It does not work well with McAfee, but if you need a free email scan program and don't use McAfee this is it!
AVG Antivirus - A free fully functional anti-virus program.
HouseCall - A free web site that allows you to scan your system for viruses and remove the viruses.

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