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Installing McAfee Anti-virus Software Under Microsoft Vista

Downloading and Installing McAfee VirusScan Enterprise (VirusScan 8.5i)

Step 1.  Downloading the software
Step 2.  Installing the software
Step 3.  Configuring and Updating the Software
Step 4.  Registering for Virus Alerts

Step 1.  Downloading The Software

NOTE:  This software is a licensed version and it is only available to current students, faculty, and staff of the University of Maryland. It is to be installed only on University-owned machines or the personal machines of UMCP faculty, staff, and students. If you do not have a University of Maryland Certificate, you will be prompted to get one. You will be asked to enter your Directory ID and password. This information is only to authenticate your association with the University.

There are two different installations of the McAfee VirusScan Enterprise software (also called VirusScan 8.5i) available for download. The only difference is the way each installation keeps your anti-virus software current. Therefore, it is important to choose the best installation for your computer.

If the computer on which you are going to install the anti-virus software:

You will be prompted to enter your Directory ID and password in order to download the file.  The name of the file is mcafee85.exe; it is approximately 24MB in size.

Step 2.  Installing the Software

Note: If you already have another anti-virus program on your computer (for example, a trial version of Norton AntiVirus), you must uninstall it before proceeding with these steps in order to avoid conflicts with the McAfee software.

To install the McAfee software:

1. Double-click on the mcafee85.exe file you downloaded.
2. Click Allow or Run.
3. Click Setup in the window that appears and wait for VirusScan to recompose.
4. Click on Next. McAfee VirusScan Enterprise Setup window appears.
5. Change the License expiry type to Perpetual in the window that appears. Select I accept the terms in the license agreement at the bottom of the window and click OK. (NOTE: If you have a previous version of McAfee installed on your system, then a dialog box will appear alerting you that the old version will be removed. Do not check Preserve Settings. Click Next, and the previous version will be removed.
6. The next window asks you to select the setup type. Typical is selected by default, so simply click Next.
7. Choose Standard Protection; click Next.
8. The Ready to Install window will now appear. Click on the Install button to begin installing the VirusScan files. The installation process may take several minutes.
9. A window will appear when the installation process is complete, it will give you the choice to update VirusScan immediately (Update Now) or to scan your hard drives for viruses once the update is complete (Run On-Demand Scan). Since your anti-virus software will not be fully up-to-date until it checks for the latest information, it is recommended that you leave Update Now selected (it is already selected by default). Make sure that you are currently connected to the Internet before you click the Finish button, otherwise, it will not be able to run the update and will report that the update failed. Note: Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, the update could take a few minutes or could take as long as an hour or two. Click Finish.
10. Once the update is complete, you will receive a message that the network driver is installed but you must restart the computer in order to load it. Click OK. Then, you will receive a message that the computer needs to be restarted. Click Yes.

Step 3.  Configuring and Updating the Software

This is the easiest step because you don't have to do anything: the software has been pre-configured with the optimal settings for scanning for viruses and has been set up to automatically update itself using the AutoUpdate feature.

The software will automatically update itself differently depending on which installation you chose. Note: If you installed the Network Installation, your anti-virus software will attempt to update itself daily at a random time, between 9am and 5pm.

Your computer will need to be connected to the Internet in order for the update to take place. If the computer is not connected to the Internet or the connection drops during the update, the update will fail and the anti-virus software will simply try again next time. If the software is already current and there are no new files to download, the update will quit and retry next time. Any updates will occur in the background and should not be noticeable on most modern computers. Note:Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, the update could take a few minutes or could take as long as an hour or two.

If you want to make any configuration changes or change the way the AutoUpdate works, consult the help files for McAfee VirusScan by opening up the VirusScan program and choosing Help from the menu bar.

Step 4.  Signing Up for Virus Alerts

Even the best anti-virus software that is completely current can fail to detect a brand new virus that it has not been "trained" (updated) to recognize. For this reason, it is recommended that you register to receive alerts about new and dangerous viruses via e-mail from the Office of Information Technology Virus Notification Program. Registering is a quick and easy process that can save you from falling victim to a destructive computer virus. Once done, you will not only receive e-mail about computer viruses and related security issues, but you'll be informed about any virus that is likely to affect members of the University of Maryland community.