McAfee VirusScan
| File:McAfee SecurityCenter.png McAfee SecurityCenter v10.0.580 | |
| Developer(s) | McAfee |
|---|---|
| Stable release | v10.0.580 (Security Centre);v14.0 (Virus Scan)
/ 2010-02-04 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X |
| Type | Antivirus |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | McAfee.com |
McAfee VirusScan is an antivirus program created and maintained by McAfee Inc., formerly known as Network Associates. VirusScan is designed for home and home-office use; 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.
Features
The 2010 edition of VirusScan Plus integrates antivirus, firewall and anti-spyware capabilities.
It includes, amongst other things;
- On-access file scanning
- Inbound and outbound firewall protection
- Spyware protection
- Daily definition updates
- McAfee X-Ray rootkit detection
- McAfee SiteAdvisor - displays a safety rating for websites based on tests for evidence of spam, malware and phishing
- McAfee SystemGuards - monitors the computer for activity that may be caused by virus infection or hacker activity(discontinued see below)
- Please Note that in the upgraded release in February 2010 McAfee Discontinued System guards 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.
VirusScan Plus 2010 is compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 only.
VirusScan Enterprise
McAfee also produces an enterprise-level product named VirusScan Enterprise which is designed for use on larger networks. It contains features designed to make management of antivirus software on multiple computers easier. Unlike the home-user edition, it consists of a client application which is loaded on all networked computers and a server application, through which signature and application updates are installed and settings for all client programs are configured. Clients can be controlled with the ePolicy Orchestrator, which is a unified console (it can control VirusScan and other McAfee products).
VirusScan for Mac
Previously known as Virex, in November 2007 McAfee announced[1] VirusScan for Mac 8.6. The main highlights of this new version are:
- 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
- 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 Bulletin and other independent consumer organizations, McAfee virus scan has not fared well, frequently failing to detect some common viruses.[2]
A review of VirusScan 2006 by CNET criticized the product due to "pronounced performance hits in two of our three real-world performance tests"[3] and some users reviewing the same product reported encountering technical problems.[4]
Some older versions of the VirusScan engine use all available CPU cycles.[5]
Current McAfee virus scanning products do not handle false positives well, repeatedly removing or quarantining files which are known to be clean, even after the user restores them.[6]
Customer support for McAfee products is consistently described as lacking, with support staff slow to respond and unable to answer many questions.[7][8]
On April 21, 2010, beginning approximately at 2 PM GMT, millions of computers worldwide running Windows XP Service Pack 3 were affected by an erroneous virus definition file update by McAfee, resulting in the removal of a Windows system file (svchost.exe) on those machines, causing machines to lose network access and, in some cases, 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 their consumer knowledge base. [9] [10]
References
- ^ McAfee, Inc. Releases VirusScan Software for Leopard
- ^ [1]
- ^ McAfee VirusScan 2006 Reviews - Cnet.com
- ^ McAfee VirusScan 2006 Ratings - Cnet.com
- ^ VirusScan 4.5.1 release notes
- ^ Computer Shopper Review
- ^ TopTen Reviews
- ^ Adware Support review
- ^ "McAfee DAT 5958 Update Issues". 21 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ "Botched McAfee update shutting down corporate XP machines worldwide". 21 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.