Using McAfee VirusScan

McAfee VirusScan is installed on campus for all users. Employees may obtain a copy from IT to install on their home computers.

When you see the McAfee VShield icon in the lower right corner of your computer screen (the "system tray"), it means McAfee has been installed and you will have the ability to check your computer for viruses.  
VirusScan can check all the files on your computer or individual files. It is recommended to do a full-computer check at least once a month.

To scan a drive or folder for viruses:

    
  1. Open a file management window such as My Computer or Windows Explorer.
  • Note: You may also the File|Open dialog windows in most software applications.
 
     
  1. Right-click on a drive letter or folder
  2. On the popup menu that appears, select Scan for Viruses.
  
     
  1. VirusScan will launch.

    Overview of scanning options

    (click on the VirusScan Help menu for full information)

    Before clicking the Scan Now button, it is valuable to set your options for such things as what drives are to be scanned and what actions are to be taken if a virus is found. The main options for the typical user are found under the Detection and Action tabs.

  
Detection (tab) Options. As shown in the illustration above, VirusScan is set to check the C: drive on the computer.
  • You may add to the selection of drives/disks by clicking on the Add button.
  • You may select different drives/disks by clicking on the Edit button.
Action (tab) Options are simply for declaring what you want the program to do when it finds an infected file. You will likely keep this set to "Prompt user for action."
  1. Once you have selected a drive or folder to scan, click the Scan Now button.
    
If all the files on a drive or in a folder are virus-free, VirusScan will report this in the lower portion of it's window.  
     

When VirusScan does detect a virus, you will be prompted to take action.

You should select "Apply to all items" (lower left hand corner) and then click the Clean button.
If you do not select "Apply to all items" then this dialogue box will appear for every infected file.

Also, this dialogue box may appear when you are downloading or accessing an infected file. When this dialogue box appears just follow the instructions in the "VirusScan suggests" area to remove the virus from your computer.

 
     

Checking an individual file

    
There may be times when you wish to check only a file or two rather than an entire folder or drive. Some files, such as Microsoft Office documents, can be scanned individually.
To scan an individual file, right-click on the file name. If the popup menu lists "Scan for Viruses," you may select that choice and proceed as above in step 4.  
     
     
     

Oakton Community College Information Technology Department
April 30, 2002