McAfee VirusScan Mac

From SCIC

McAfee VirusScan for Mac (formerly known as Virex) is an anti-virus software developed by the Network Associates. You will need to install VirusScan in your computer in order to register into the network.

Contents 1 Locations 2 Download 3 Questions and Answers 3.1 McAfee VirusScan for Mac seems to have been installed in my computer but I can't find it anywhere? 3.2 Are Macintosh computers more secure than PC computers? 3.3 Why use VirusScan? 4 Miscellaneous Information 5 Other Links

Locations

• McAfee VirusScan for Mac is installed in all of the campus' Macs.

Download

Click here to download the latest version under Carleton's license.

(For OS X versions below 10.4, please download and install the original Virex.)

Questions and Answers

McAfee VirusScan for Mac seems to have been installed in my computer but I can't find it anywhere?

• First of all, spotlight search for a VirusScan folder in your computer. If you are unable to find one, it may be that you don't have the right version of Stuffit Expander installed and the expansion is not working properly. If this is the case, download the latest Stuffit Expander version (look under other links) and installed VirusScan once again. This should solve your problem.

Are Macintosh computers more secure than PC computers?

• Yes, but that does not mean that they don't need virus protection. Macs can act as carriers and pass on infected files. This is especially true of macro viruses communicated via Microsoft Office documents.
• The best protection against viruses on a Macintosh is to not run any program on it that you are not sure of it's origin and purpose. Macintosh computers are generally not affected by the plethora of viruses and other malicious threatens that Windows based computers are vulnerable to. PC trojans and other malware, however, often spread themselves around as e-mail attachments. When an unsuspecting Windows user receives and then opens such an attachment, one of the first thing the trojan will do is scan that user's e-mail address book and start sending itself out to those no it. If you use a Mac and receive a strange attachment or start getting strange emails, even if it is addressed from a friend or colleague, do not download it. Luckily, opening those attachments on a Mac will have little or no effect on your system, but now you will get several such emails daily and propagate the malicious program to other, vulnerable, Windows users. If you find that you are getting dozens of these messages a day you may want to look to see if the e-mails or attachments have hte same anme and set up a rule in your e-mail client program to flag or delete them as they arrive.

• Turning on any of the sharing services (in System Preferences: Sharing) should not be done unless you know what you are doing and have a specific use in mind. This is especially rue with Remote Login and Remote Apple events, both of which could allow an unauthorized user to log into and execute files and services without your knowledge.

Why use VirusScan?

• VirusScan protects against MS Office viruses. These viruses are generally document specific and only affect the behavior of Office applications, but VirusScan still should be run.

• There are very few known operating system viruses that affect Macintosh computers, and most of those that do exist are designed by anti-virus software companies who specifically engineer the program to prove that such an exploit was possible. Such "proof of concept" viruses, are, of course, not released, they exist merely to show that such viruses are possible. Most viruses on the net are made to affect the operating system with the most users, and Macintoshes comprise a small share of the market.

• Furthermore, a Mac virus would be very hard to engineer due to the Mac's architecture. Because Macintosh OS X is based on Unix, it is already by it's nature quite secure. Unix is a permissions based operating system, and most system level functions require "root" privileges. In other words, a virus would have to know your root password and be executed by an administrative user in order to run. If a Mac virus is engineered, it could do little harm without the express installation, execution, and permission of the end user.

Miscellaneous Information

• In order to install VirusScan in your computer, you must have the latest version of Stuffit Expander.

Other Links

• For a detailed description of this product visit the VirusScan Home Page.