McAfee VirusScan - Anti-Virus for Microsoft Windows 

Links for McAfee:  McAfee's Main Screen |  E-mail Scan Settings |

Links on this page:  System Scan Properties | E-mail Scan Properties | HAWK Properties |

 

  Advanced Settings for McAfee Virus Scan:

There are two ways to access the main screen of McAfee VirusScan.

Method 1: System Tray

In the System Tray, right-click the McAfee icon and select the option Launch VirusScan from the pop-up menu.

 

Method 2: Programs List

On the Desktop, click the Start button and select Programs -> McAfee -> VirusScan Home Edition from the menus.

 

The McAfee VirusScan window opens.

In the Tasks menu on the left, click the option to Configure automatic protection settings to see the screen below.

Add or remove checkmarks to enable or disable the following key components:

System Scanning
E-mail Scanning
HAWK

E-mail is the most common way in which computer viruses are spread, so you should typically have this turned on.  This e-mail Scanning applies to programs such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape, Eudora, Pegasus, etc.  e-mail attachments will be automatically scanned.

Tip:  If you are having problems with an e-mail program, turn off McAfee's e-mail Scan and HAWK for E-mail to make sure McAfee is not the culprit.  These are the 2nd and 3rd checkmarks below.

For advanced configuration options and preferences in these three areas, click the Advanced button.

 

System Scan Properties:

The following screen appears:

In the left-hand column, highlight System Scan.

Four tabs appear on the right:  Detection, Action, Report, and Exclusion.

The Detection tab for of the System Scan determines what will cause a scan to start and the type of files that will be scanned.

 

Select the Action tab.

The Action tab of the System Scan determines the default action taken when a virus is detected.

 

Select the Report tab.

The Report tab of the System Scan determines if a log file will be created and the type of info logged.

 

Select the Exclusion tab.

The Exclusion tab of the System Scan determines which type of files to be excluded from virus scans.

 

E-mail Scan Properties:

In the left-hand column, highlight E-Mail Scan.

E-mail is the most common way in which computer viruses are spread, so you should typically have this turned on.

This e-mail Scanning applies to programs such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape, Eudora, Pegasus, etc.  e-mail attachments will be automatically scanned.

Tip:  If you are having problems with an e-mail program, turn off McAfee's E-mail Scan and HAWK for E-mail to make sure McAfee is not the culprit.  This can be here, or before coming in to these advanced settings at the top.

If you go to a website to check your e-mail rather than using one of these programs, any attachments downloaded through Internet Explorer for example are seen as downloaded files rather than e-mail attachments.  So, these settings do not apply to Web Mail. Turn on the auto-protect feature above to automatically scan these downloads.

The Detection tab for of the E-mail Scan determines whether e-mails with attachments will be scanned.  

Note:  If you remove the checkmark, thus disabling e-mail scan, the options below and on the other three tabs will be grayed out.

 

Select the Action tab.

The Action tab of the E-mail Scan determines the default action taken when a virus is detected.

 

Select the Alert tab.

The Alert tab of the E-mail Scan determines who will be alerted about the affected file.

 

Select the Report tab.

The Report tab of the E-mail Scan determines if a log file will be created and the type of info logged.

 

HAWK (Hostile Activity Watch Kernel) Properties:

In the left-hand column, highlight HAWK.

Two tabs appear on the right:  E-Mail and Script Stopper.

The E-mail tab of HAWK checks for virus-like behavior in your e-mail program.  This includes mass mailings or suspect attachments.

Tip:  If you are having problems with an e-mail program, turn off McAfee's E-mail Scan and HAWK for E-mail to make sure McAfee is not the culprit.  This can be here, or before coming in to these advanced settings at the top.

 

Select the Script Stopper tab.

The Script Stopper tab of HAWK warns you if a script of application tries to perform any potentially harmful actions.

 

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