McAfee VirusScan AutoUpdate

McAfee VirusScan AutoUpdate

Desktop & Instructional Resources will provide McAfee virus software updates on this page whenever a new update is released by Network Associates, the makers of McAfee virus scanning products. Any comments or questions about this page should be directed to the Help Desk at 941-help.

Why Would A New Data (DAT) File Be Needed?

McAfee discovers about 200 new viruses each month from around the world. Often, these newer viruses are not detected using the older data files.

McAfee Virus researchers are laboring constantly to update the files with more and newer virus definitions. Before you can detect these new viruses, you must obtain the latest version of DAT files and install them to your existing version of VirusScan to update that program.

The DAT files are always FREE. However, McAfee does not guarantee backwards compatibility of the DAT files with older versions of the scan engine.

What Is A Data (DAT) File?

The files CLEAN.DAT, NAMES.DAT, and SCAN.DAT all provide virus information to the McAfee VirusScan software. These are the data files.

What version of the McAfee definitions and scan engine am I running?

Prior to downloading .DAT file updates, please take a moment to verify the scan engine version of your current McAfee product. To do this:

1. Right Click the Vshield icon in the system tray (bottom right hand corner of your screen where your time is displayed).
2. Click About

3. Virus definitions number should be 4.0.4199 as of 04/30/2002
4. Scan engine number should be 4.1.60 as of 04/30/2002

NOTE: If you have a 2.x, 3.x, or below 4.1.x scan engine you must contact the Help Desk at 941-help to request an upgrade to the 4.5.1 search engine in order to obtain DAT updates to your virus software.

DIR is providing a AutoUpdate method for updating your virus software. AutoUpdate requires you to configure your virus software only once with connection information provided below and then weekly clicking a Run Now button which will automatically find new virus updates and install that update for you.

How do I AutoUpdate my .DAT files?

1. To get the most recent updates just double-click the Scheduler icon in the system tray, which looks like a magnifying glass, in the lower right hand corner of your screen.
2. Then double-click on AutoUpdate. (Not AutoUpgrade, that is for upgrading the entire program)
3. A task Properties dialog box will come up and look like this:

4. Click on the Run Now button. The Scheduler will automatically locate the update files on a specified server. If you do not have the latest update it will be done now. While it is running you will see an active gas pump. The status: will report that it is connecting to remote host, then retrieving the update file, then extracting the files and finally a Successful message will appear. Depending upon the speed of your computer this may take a few minutes.
5. If your virus definitions are updated, your virus protection icon in the sytem tray will disappear until you restart the computer to load the new information. A script box will tell you the update was successful. Another box will ask you to restart to reactivate virus protection. Restart you computer now.

Note: If you see a message that says Unable to load device drivers. Please try to reboot do not worry. Simply click OK. The computer will restart and should work normally. The error message seems to have to do with a temporary condition that is reset when the computer restarts and may be due to an oversight by the software publisher.

________________________________________________________________________