McAfee Guard Dog, User Manual, Page: 67 / 89

User’s Guide 57
Using AntiVirus Features
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NOTE:
If CheckUp has reported that your PC is virus free, you may want
to turn off the Virus Check in CheckUp Settings to reduce the amount
of time that it takes to complete your CheckUp. This does not disable
automatic virus checking. As long as you have all automatic virus
checking turned on (What to Check settings in Virus Sentry), you are not
likely to get a new virus.
Keeping virus protection up-to-date
The AntiVirus protection in Guard Dog uses a database of known
virus-characteristics when it checks your PC for a virus, but new viruses are
always being created and old viruses are always being modified.
The McAfee Software virus research team is constantly watching for these new
and changed viruses. As new virus information is discovered, it is added to the
pattern file. Once a month, a new pattern file is made available through the
Internet. You can retrieve it by clicking your Guard Dog Update button. For
more information, see “Updating Guard Dog” on page 20.
It is important to keep this file up-to-date on your PC. Guard Dog schedules a
reminder to suggest that you check for a new version of the pattern file each
month.