McAfee VIRUSSCAN 4.5 -, Administrator'S Manual

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Administrator’s Guide 77
Removing Infections From Your System
Responding to viruses or malicious software
Because VirusScan software consists of several component programs, any one
of which could be active at one time, your possible responses to a virus
infection or to other malicious software will depend upon which program
detected the harmful object, how you have that program configured to
respond, and other circumstances. The following sections give an overview of
the default responses available with each program component. To learn about
other possible responses, see the chapter that discusses each component in
detail.
Responding when the VShield scanner detects malicious software
The VShield scanner consists of four related modules that provide you with
continuous background protection against viruses, harmful Java and ActiveX
objects, and dangerous websites. A fifth module controls security settings for
the other four. You can configure and activate each module separately, or use
them together to provide maximum protection. See
Chapter 4, “Using
VirusScan Software,” to learn how to configure each module. Because each
module detects different objects or scans different virus entry points, each has
a different set of default responses.
Responding when the System Scan module detects a virus
How this module reacts when it finds a virus depends on which operating
system your computer runs and, on Windows 95 and Windows 98 systems, on
which prompt option you chose in the module’s Action page.
By default on Windows 95 and Windows 98 systems, this module looks for
viruses each time you run, copy, create, or rename any file on your system, or
whenever you read from a floppy disk. On Windows NT Workstation v4.0
and Windows 2000 Professional systems, the System Scan module looks for
viruses whenever your system or another computer reads files from or writes
files to your hard disk or a floppy disk.
Because it scans files this way, the System Scan module can serve as a backup
in case any of the other VShield modules does not detect a virus when it first
enters your system. In its initial configuration, the module will deny access to
any infected file it finds, whichever Windows version your computer runs. It
will also display an alert message that asks you what you want to do about the
virus (see
Figure 3-11 on page 87 ). The response options you see in this dialog
box come from default choices or choices you make in the System Scan
module’s Action page.
As this dialog box awaits your response, your computer will continue to
process any other tasks it is running in the background.