User Guide

User’s Guide 37
McAfee VirusScan
If you suspect you have a virus...
First of all, don’t p anic! Alt hough fa r fr om harm le ss, most virusesthatinfect
your machine will not destroy data, play pranks, or render your computer
unusable. Even the comparatively rare viruses that do carry a destructive
payload usually prod uce their nasty effects in respo nse to a trigger event. In
most cases, unless you actually see evidence of a payload that has activated,
you will have time to deal with t he infection pr operly. The very presence of
thesesmallsnippets of unwantedcomputercodecan,however,interfere with
yourcomputer’snormal operation,consumesystemresourcesandhaveother
undesirable effects, so you sho uld take them s erious ly and be sure to remo ve
them when you encounter them .
A second idea to keep in min d is that odd co mputer behavior , unexplained
system crashes, or other unpredictable events might have causes other than
virus infections. If you believe you have a virus on your computer because of
occurrences such as these, scanning for viruses might not produce the results
you ex p e ct, but it will help eliminate one potential cause of your computer
problems.
The safest course of action you can t ake is to install VirusScan softw are, then scan
your system immediately and thoroughly.
When you install VirusScan software, Setup starts the VirusScan application
toexamineyourcomputer’smemoryandy ourharddiskbootsectorsinorder
to verify that it can safely copy its files to your har d disk w ithout risk ing th eir
infection. If the application does not detect any infections, continue with the
installation, then scan your system thoroughly as soon as you restart your
computer. File-infector viruses that don’t l oad into your comput er’s memory
orhideiny ourharddiskbootblocksmightstillbelurkingsomewhereonyour
system. to learn how to scan your system.
If the VirusS can app lication detects a v irus during Setup, you’ll need t o
remove it from your system before you install the program.
æ IMPORTANT: To e nsure m aximum security, yo u s hould also follo w
these same steps if a VirusScan component detects a virus in your
computer’s memory at some point after installation.
If VirusScan software found an infection during installation, follow these
steps carefully:
1. Quit Setup immediately, thenshut down your computer.
Be sure to turn the power to your system off completely. Do not press
CTRL+ALT+DELor reset your computer to restart your system—some
viruses can remain intact during this type of “warm” reboot.