McAfee VirusScan
Encyclopedia
McAfee VirusScan is an antivirus
program created and maintained by McAfee Inc. (formerly known as Network Associates). McAfee markets VirusScan to home and home-office users; McAfee also develops VirusScan Enterprise for use in corporate environments. The product is not available as a standalone package, but is included in the McAfee VirusScan Plus package or as part of McAfee Internet Security Suite. McAfee also produces a similar product for Mac OS X
under the name of VirusScan for Mac. Additionally, BSkyB and McAfee have produced a "Sky Broadband
" branded version of VirusScan, offered free to Sky Digital
customers upon broadband modem installation.
and anti-spyware
capabilities.
It includes, amongst other things;
VirusScan Plus 2010 is compatible with Windows 2000
, Windows XP
, Windows Vista
and Windows 7 only.
VirusScan for Mac 8.6.1 The main highlights of this new version are:
and other independent consumer-organizations, McAfee virus scan has not fared well, frequently failing to detect some common viruses.
A review of VirusScan 2006 by CNET
criticized the product due to "pronounced performance hits in two of our three real-world performance tests" and some users reviewing the same product reported encountering technical problems.
Some older versions of the VirusScan engine use all available CPU cycles.
McAfee virus-scanning products did not handle false positives well, repeatedly removing or quarantining known clean files even after the user restores them.
Reviewers have described customer support for McAfee products as lacking, with support staff slow to respond and unable to answer many questions.
On April 21, 2010, beginning approximately at 2 PM GMT, an erroneous virus definition file update from McAfee affected millions of computers worldwide running Windows XP Service Pack 3. The update resulted in the removal of a Windows system file (
Antivirus software
Antivirus or anti-virus software is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including but not limited to computer viruses, computer worm, trojan horses, spyware and adware...
program created and maintained by McAfee Inc. (formerly known as Network Associates). McAfee markets VirusScan to home and home-office users; McAfee also develops VirusScan Enterprise for use in corporate environments. The product is not available as a standalone package, but is included in the McAfee VirusScan Plus package or as part of McAfee Internet Security Suite. McAfee also produces a similar product for Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
under the name of VirusScan for Mac. Additionally, BSkyB and McAfee have produced a "Sky Broadband
Sky Broadband
Sky Broadband is an internet service provider for Sky customers.As of March 2008 Sky claims to have reached 1.428 million customers, and unbundled 1,179 exchanges, covering 70% of the United Kingdom. In October 2007, Sky reached the 1 million mark in terms of customer numbers, and claim to be...
" branded version of VirusScan, offered free to Sky Digital
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
customers upon broadband modem installation.
Features
The 2010 edition of VirusScan Plus integrates antivirus, firewallFirewall (computing)
A firewall is a device or set of devices designed to permit or deny network transmissions based upon a set of rules and is frequently used to protect networks from unauthorized access while permitting legitimate communications to pass....
and anti-spyware
Spyware
Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge. The presence of spyware is typically hidden from the user, and can be difficult to detect. Typically, spyware is secretly installed on the user's...
capabilities.
It includes, amongst other things;
- On-access file scanner (McAfee OAS)
- Inbound and outbound firewall protection
- Spyware protection
- Daily definition updates
- McAfee X-Ray rootkitRootkitA rootkit is software that enables continued privileged access to a computer while actively hiding its presence from administrators by subverting standard operating system functionality or other applications...
detection - McAfee SiteAdvisor - displays a safety rating for websites based on tests for evidence of spamE-mail spamEmail spam, also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email , is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email. Definitions of spam usually include the aspects that email is unsolicited and sent in bulk. One subset of UBE is UCE...
, malwareMalwareMalware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
and phishingPhishingPhishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT... - McAfee SystemGuards - monitors a computer for activity that may be caused by virus infection or hacker activity(discontinued: see below)
- In the upgraded release in February 2010 McAfee discontinued SystemGuards in favor of its Active protection(Artemis), which detects suspicious activity in real-time and contacts McAfee labs to determine whether the file is a threat. Artemis was released around August 2008.
VirusScan Plus 2010 is compatible with Windows 2000
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
, Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
and Windows 7 only.
VirusScan Enterprise
McAfee also produces an enterprise-level product named VirusScan Enterprise: McAfee has designed this for use on larger networks. It contains features intended to make management of antivirus software on multiple computers easier. Unlike the home-user edition, it consists of a client application - loaded on all networked computers - and a server application, through which the system installs signature and application updates and configures settings for all client programs. Clients can be controlled with the ePolicy Orchestrator, which is a unified console (it can control VirusScan and other McAfee products).VirusScan for Mac
In November 2007 McAfee announced VirusScan for Mac 8.6. (Earlier versions used the name Virex, developed by HJC Software.) The main highlights of VirusScan version 8.6 include:- Leopard Compatibility: First version compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
- Universal Binary: First universal binary version in the Virex product line. It will run on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Mac computers natively.
- On Access scanning: Features true blocking On Access Scanning. It scans every file being accessed from or written to the machine and blocks infections if any. On Access Scanner can be configured to scan on Read Only, Write only or both. It can also be configured to scan files on network volumes.
- 5301 engine support: The latest McAfee Anti-Virus engine.
- Apple Mail scanning : It will now scan Apple Mail messages for any infections. This feature is available through both On Demand Scanner and On Access Scanner.
VirusScan for Mac 8.6.1 The main highlights of this new version are:
- Support for updating virus signatures (DATs) and scanning engine from ePolicy Orchestrator repositories
- Support for updating virus signatures (DATs) and scanning engine from HTTP and local repositories
- Support for specifying a list of FTP, HTTP,and/or local repositories for updating virus signatures (DATs) and scanning engine. Please open the URL to check the DAT Version http://vil.nai.com/vil/DATReadme.aspx
- Support for VirusScan for Mac deployment and installation from ePolicy Orchestrator
- Support for installing HotFixes and Patches for VirusScan for Mac from ePolicy Orchestrator
- Support for proxy server authentication
- Addition of Minimum Escalation Requirements tool
Criticism
In tests by Virus BulletinVirus Bulletin
Virus Bulletin is a magazine about the prevention, detection and removal of malware and spam. It regularly features analyses of the latest virus threats, articles exploring new developments in the fight against viruses, interviews with anti-virus experts, and evaluations of current anti-malware...
and other independent consumer-organizations, McAfee virus scan has not fared well, frequently failing to detect some common viruses.
A review of VirusScan 2006 by CNET
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
criticized the product due to "pronounced performance hits in two of our three real-world performance tests" and some users reviewing the same product reported encountering technical problems.
Some older versions of the VirusScan engine use all available CPU cycles.
McAfee virus-scanning products did not handle false positives well, repeatedly removing or quarantining known clean files even after the user restores them.
Reviewers have described customer support for McAfee products as lacking, with support staff slow to respond and unable to answer many questions.
On April 21, 2010, beginning approximately at 2 PM GMT, an erroneous virus definition file update from McAfee affected millions of computers worldwide running Windows XP Service Pack 3. The update resulted in the removal of a Windows system file (
svchost.exeSvchost.exeIn the Windows NT family of operating systems, svchost.exe is a system process which hosts multiple Windows services. Its executable image, %SystemRoot%\System32\Svchost.exe or %SystemRoot%\SysWOW64\Svchost.exe runs in multiple instances, each hosting one or more services...
) on those machines, causing machines to lose network access and, in some cases, to enter a reboot loop. McAfee rectified this by removing and replacing the faulty DAT file, version 5958, with an emergency DAT file (version 5959) and has posted a fix for the affected machines in its consumer "KnowledgeBase".