From the KnowledgeBase
Antivirus software: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Solution:
Antivirus software is a pro-active means of
battling computer viruses.
- How to avoid infecting your computer with a virus
- What to do if you think your computer is already infected
- Antivirus software: What are my software choices after I leave the University?
- Installation instructions for Princeton institutional computers
Purchase antivirus software
If your intend to purchase a retail antivirus software package, here are links to the websites of several of the major retail antivirus offerings available for retail purchase:
Free antivirus software
If you plan on installing a free antivirus software
package on your computer,
here are links to several of the major reputable offerings in this
category.
Free antivirus software has fewer features than commercial antivirus
software,
but does provide a minimum amount of protection and is acceptable if
you
don't want to purchase a commercial antivirus software package. For a
review
of the free antivirus options, see
About
Free Antivirus Software.
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition
- Avast Antivirus
- AVG Antivirus
- ClamAV Antivirus
If you need assistance choosing an antivirus software solution that will work for your computer, please contact the Help Desk at 8-HELP for further assistance.
University Purchased Computers
OIT has a license
with McAfee antivirus software for faculty and staff computers that
have been purchased with University monies through a project and/or
grant account number. Faculty and staff using DeSC
computers do not need to take any action as the computers are
configured
to update their virus software and definitions from the Princeton
servers.
- Windows: McAfee download and installation instructions
- Macintosh: McAfee download and installation instructions
- McAfee: How to schedule a scan and perform full system scans
- McAfee: How to scan an external device such as a USB drive
- McAfee: Installation causes error messages, including Outlook error messages
Scheduled Scans
OIT has implemented McAfee scheduled scans for all institutional
Windows
desktops used by faculty and staff.
- The scans will begin at 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 21, 2010, and will continue to scan computers weekly each Sunday. All Windows desktop computers with McAfee VirusScan are scheduled to participate. The decision to implement full system scanning was made due to the security issues involved with computers that do not scan, search and remove malware. Users who log into the computer during that time should experience minimal performance issues.
- McAfee software actively scans files that are opened, uploaded and downloaded with the most up-to-date virus definitions, yet sometimes a new virus can be downloaded before McAfee has a definition for it, or if the file is never opened after McAfee receives the corresponding update. Performing a full scan of a computer with up-to-date definitions is the only way malware can be detected and deleted once the computer has become infected.
- To send a request for a machine to “opt-out” of this service, use the form at: https://oitforms.princeton.edu/SS/scanexclude. Please consider this option carefully as it is not recommended. The only way to fully protect a computer against malware is to scan the hard disk on a periodic basis.
Related Links:
- Please contact picss@princeton.edu with any questions.
