Frequently asked questions

This section contains troubleshooting information in the form of frequently asked questions.

Installation


  • Question: I just installed the software using the silent installation method, and there is no VirusScan Enterprise icon in the Windows system tray.

    Answer: The icon shield does not appear in the system tray until you restart your system. However, even though there is no icon, VirusScan Enterprise is running and your system is protected. Verify this by checking for the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\ ShStatEXE="C:\Program Files\McAfee\VirusScan Enterprise\SHSTAT.EXE"/STANDALONE.

  • Question: Why can some users on my network configure their own settings and others cannot?

    Answer: The administrator might have configured the user interface so that tasks are password-protected. If so, users cannot change settings. In addition, different Windows operating systems have different user privileges. Refer to your Microsoft Windows documentation for more information about user privileges.

Potentially unwanted programs


  • Question: I suspect I have a potentially unwanted program but VirusScan Enterprise is not detecting it.

    Answer: Download the latest beta DAT file while it is still being tested prior to the official release, from this website: http://vil.nai.com/vil/virus-4d.asp.

Blocked programs


  • Question: I installed VirusScan Enterprise and now one of my programs does not work.

    Answer: The program might be blocked by an access protection rule.
    1. Review the access protection log file to determine if the program was blocked by a rule.
    2. If you find the program listed in the log, you can either enter it as an exclusion to the rule or disable the rule. See Protecting Your System Access Points for more information.

Cookie detections


  • Question: When reviewing the cookie detections in the on-demand scan activity log, I noticed that the file name detection is always 00000000.ie for every detection. Why does VirusScan Enterprise assign the same file name for every on-demand scan cookie detection when other programs assign an individual or incremental file name to each cookie detection?

    Answer: VirusScan Enterprise assigns the same file name to each cookie detection because of the way the on-demand scanner detects and takes action on cookies. This behavior applies only to cookies detected by on-demand scans. A cookie file might contain many cookies. The scan engine treats a cookie file as an archive and assigns a value as an offset from the beginning of the file (starting with zero). Because the scanner uses the scan engine to detect and take action on each detected cookie before it proceeds with the scan, the value starts at zero for each detection. The result is that every detection is assigned a 00000000.ie file name. Other products detect all cookies, assign each one an individual or incremental file name, then take action on each detection.

General


  • Question: The VirusScan Enterprise icon in my system tray appears to be disabled.

    Answer: If there is a red circle and line covering the VirusScan Enterprise icon, that indicates that the on-access scanner is disabled. Here are the most common causes and solutions. If none of these solves your problem, contact Technical Support.
    1. Make sure that the on-access scanner is enabled. Right-click the VirusScan Enterprise icon in the system tray. If the on-access scanner is disabled, click Enable On-Access Scan.
    2. Make sure that the McShield service is running.
      • Start the service manually from the Services Control Panel.
      • Select Start | Run, then type Net Start McShield.
      • Set the service to start automatically from the Services Control Panel.

  • Question: I get an error saying that I cannot download CATALOG.Z.

    Answer: This error can be caused by many things. Here are some suggestions to help determine the source of the problem:
    • If you are using the McAfee default download site for updates, determine if you can download the CATALOG.Z file from a web browser. Try downloading the file from this website: http://update.nai.com/Products/CommonUpdater/catalog.z.
    • If you can't download the file, but you can see it (in other words, your browser does not allow you to download it), you have a proxy issue and need to talk to your network administrator.
    • If you can download the file, VirusScan Enterprise should be able to download it as well. Contact technical support for assistance in troubleshooting your installation of VirusScan Enterprise.

  • Question: What is the location of the HTTP download site?

    Answer:

  • Question: What is the location of the FTP download site?

    Answer:

  • Question: If I do detect a potentially unwanted program and I have chosen prompt user for action, what action should I choose (Clean or Delete)?

    Answer: Our general recommendation is to choose Clean if you are not sure what to do with a detected file. The on-access and on-demand scanners automatically back up items to the quarantine directory before they are cleaned or deleted.