User’s Guide 37
McAfee VirusScan
If you suspect you have a virus...
First of a ll, don’t panic! Although far fro m harmle ss, most virusesthatinfect
your machine will n ot d estroy data, play pranks, or render your computer
unusable. Even the comparatively rare vir uses that do carry a destr uctive
payload usually prod uce their nasty effects in response to a trigger event. In
most cases, unless you actually see evidence of a payload that has activated,
you w ill have time to d eal with t he infection properly. The very presence of
these small snipp ets of unwanted computer code can, however, interfere with
your computer’s normal operation, consu me system resources and haveother
undesira ble effects, s o you should take them s erious ly and be sure to remove
them when you encounter them .
A second idea to keep in m in d i s that odd computer behavio r, unexplained
system crashes, or other un predictable even ts might have c auses other than
virus infections. If you believe you have a virus on your computer because of
occurrences such as these, scanning for viruses might not produce the results
you expect, b u t it will help e liminate one potential cause of your co mputer
problems.
The safest course of action you can take is to install V irusScan software, then scan
your system immediately and tho roughly.
When you install VirusScan software, Setup starts the VirusScan application
to examine your computer’s memory and your hard d isk boot sectors in order
to verify that it can safe ly copy its files to your hard disk without risking the ir
infection. If the application does not detect any infections, continue with the
install ation, then scan your system thoroughly as soon as you restart your
computer. File-infec tor viruses that d o n’t l oad into your comput er’s memory
orhide inyourharddiskboot blocksmight stillbelurkingsomewhereon your
system. to learn how to scan your system.
If the VirusScan application d e tects a vir us during Setup, you’ll need t o
remove it from your system before you install the prog ram.
æ IMPORTANT: To ensure maximu m security, yo u s hould a lso follow
these s ame s teps if a VirusScan com ponent detects a virus in your
compu ter’s memory at some point after installation.
If VirusScan software found an infection during installation, follow these
steps carefully:
1. Quit Setup immediately, then shut down your computer.
Be sure to turn the power to your system off completely. Do not press
CTRL+ALT+DEL or reset your computer to restart your system— some
viruses can remain intact d uring this type of “warm” reboot.
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