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The Virus Threat

Lesson 3: Safe Computing Practices

Updating your scanner

Just having a virus detection program is not enough though. You have to keep them up to date, failing to do so could mean that you are still vulnerable to any virus that came out since you installed the program, and with 400 new viruses a month that could leave you very vulnerable. Depending on how much you use your computer you should be downloading updates anywhere from once a week to once a month, although I have heard of some people who update daily and I don't think it is necessarily a bad idea for high users who keep very valuable information on their systems. Each software program has its own method for updating the scanner, for each of the programs mentioned we will discuss how to update the program.

McAfee

McAfee includes a program called Instant Updater with its virus scanner. To launch Instant Updater:

  1. Click on Start.
  2. Point to Programs (XP users, click on All Programs)
  3. Click on McAfee.
  4. Click on McAfee Shared Features
  5. Choose Instant Updater
    NOTE: Instant Updater can also be launched from with your McAfee product. Open your McAfee product and choose the update link from the Quick Jump menu.

By default Instant Updater is configured to automatically scan for new updates and install it without you needing to do anything. You should however confirm that this is the case:

  1. Launch Instant Updater.
  2. Choose 'Change my Instant Updater Settings'.
  3. Choose 'Configure automatic updates'.
  4. Choose 'Auto Update'.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Close the window.

While Instant Updater should keep your virus scanner up to date automatically you may want to run the updater manually, just to be safe. This is not really needed, but it might make you feel safer. To do so:

  1. Launch Instant Updater.
  2. Choose 'Check for updates for my products'.
  3. You may be prompted to register your product. Registering your product insures that you will receive the latest fixes and patches from McAfee.
  4. You're registration will be sent and you will be presented with available updates. Follow the instructions to install the latest patches.

Norton AntiVirus 2003

I personally use Norton AntiVirus 2003 at home. I have found it very easy to update. It contains a program called LiveUpdate, like McAfee's Instant Updater it is designed to automatically keep your virus software up to date. However you may want to manually update the system from time to time just to be safe, although I personally have never had LiveUpdate fail. To manually update Norton:

  1. Start your Symantec program by doing one of the following:

    • On the Windows desktop, locate and double-click the program's icon, for example, Norton AntiVirus 2003.
    • Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to the program's name (such as Norton AntiVirus), and then click LiveUpdate.
      The Welcome to LiveUpdate dialog box appears.
      NOTE: If you have an older version of our product, a "Select Updates" box may appear instead. In this case, please check all available updates.
    • Click Next. LiveUpdate retrieves available update information. This may take a few minutes. When it is finished, you are presented with the list of all available updates. (If your programs are up-to-date, you will see a message box that says so. In that case, click Close and run LiveUpdate again at a later time.)

  1. Click Next to download and install the updates.
  2. Click Finish.


NOTE: If the download included program updates, you may be prompted or required to restart the computer. After doing so, please run LiveUpdate again until you see the message that all programs are all up to date.

You could also use Symantec's Security Response page to update your scanner manually.

Sophos

Sophos is primarily a business enterprise virus solution. They send updates out on CD monthly. There is also an automatic update feature in the add-on program Enterprise Manager.

PC-cillin 2003

PC-cillin has an automatic update program similar to LiveUpdate and Instant Updater. If this automatic update fails you may want to manually update the program.

  1. Connect to the Internet and use a Web browser to visit the Scan Engine Updates page of Trend Micro.
  2. Download the ZIP archive containing the scan engine for PC-cillin by clicking the appropriate file:
    Windows 98/ME
    vsapi-vxd-6.580-1001.zip

    3. Windows NT/2000/XP
    vsapi-kd-6_510.zip

  3. Extract the downloaded engine zip file into the following folders:
    Windows 98/ME
    C:\ Program Files\Trend Micro\Pc-cillin 2003 \Source folder

    4. Note: Create "Source " folder first if it does not exist.

    Windows NT/2000
    C:\WINNT\System32\Drivers

    Windows XP
    C:\Windows\System32\Drivers

  4. Go to the PC-cillin program directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Pc-cillin 2003) and double-click Tmupdito.exe.
    The update notice window of the PC-cillin 2003 module appears and displays information about the version of all the PC-cillin modules.
  5. Click the "OK" button.
    Important: If the scan engine was not updated after performing the above instructions, restart your computer.

Platinum 7

Platinum also has a automatic update function, to configure it to keep your software up do date:

  1. Start Platinum
  2. Click on the General Options button
  3. Select the Update tab
  4. Choose Enable automatic updates.
  5. (Optional) Choose Notify me when updating automatically

To manually update Platinum:

  1. Start Platinum
  2. Click on the Update button on the toolbar.
  3. Click next

F-Prot for Windows

  1. Run F-Prot Antivirus
  2. Select the Updater
  3. Choose whether you are going to update from the Internet or from a LAN (if you use a LAN connection you have to specify the location of the definition files).
  4. If you are updating for the first time, please select "Settings".
  5. Type in your customer number EXACTLY like it was in the invoice e-mail you received. For your convenience, check the "Remember my customer number" box.
  6. If you use a dial-up connection, you can probably skip the proxy option and just click "ok". If your computer is a part of network you should consult your network administrator about the proxy settings.
  7. Select "Update" and the Updater will download the latest definition files.
  8. The next time you update, you can skip the "Settings" part and go straight to "Update".

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