From the KnowledgeBase

Title:
Antivirus Software: How to install McAfee on your Mac OS X computer
Synopsis:
How to install, use and uninstall McAfee Security for Mac OS X.

Solution:
McAfee Security for Mac replaces McAfee VirusScan. It is not necessary to uninstall VirusScan before installing Security for Mac.

System requirements
  • Macintosh with an Intel processor
  • 1 GB RAM or higher
  • Minimum 300 MB of free disk space (500 MB recommended)
  • Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6, Lion 10.7 or Mountain Lion 10.8
  • Macintosh owners running Boot Camp or Windows virtual machines should install VirusScan for Windows in their Boot Camp or virtual machine environments.

Installing McAfee Security for Mac

  • Download the McAfee Security for Mac.dmg disk image
  • Enter your Princeton netID and password when prompted
  • If the Security for Mac installer window does not open automatically, open the disk image that was downloaded to your computer.
  • Double-click McAfee Security for Mac Installer
  • Read the three introductory messages and click Continue
  • Answer the question about funds used to purchase the computer. The installer will quit if the computer was not purchased using a Princeton University and/or research account. Please see www.princeton.edu/antivirus or contact the OIT Help Desk at (8-4357) for other options.


  • If the computer was not purchased with personal funds, respond to the remaining prompts.


  • Enter the Mac OS X administrator password when prompted.
  • Installation will take several minutes and run silently.
  • Restart the computer when prompted.
  • If prompted to allow "cma" to accept incoming connections, click Allow. McAfee Security for Mac relies on cma to receive updates from Princeton's McAfee server.



Using McAfee Security for Mac

A red shield will appear in the menu bar after installing McAfee Security for Mac. Clicking the shield displays the antivirus security status and provides quick access to the program's functions and settings. Most settings are managed by Princeton's McAfee server and cannot be changed through the program's menus.



VMware Fusion 3 note

  • After installing McAfee Security for Mac, VMware Fusion 3 will display a reminder to exclude virtual machines from antivirus scans. You may ignore this reminder. Princeton's McAfee server automatically configures Security for Mac to exclude VMware virtual machines. Technical note: Directories whose names end in .vmwarevm are excluded from antivirus scans regardless of where they are stored on the computer. Though VMware virtual machines appear as single files, they are actually directories which use a .vmwarevm name extension and often contain hundreds of files.

Uninstalling McAfee Security for Mac

  • Download the McAfee Security for Mac.dmg disk image
  • Enter your Princeton netID and password when prompted
  • If the Security for Mac installer window does not open automatically, open the disk image that was downloaded to your computer.
  • Double-click Antivirus Remover
  • Reboot when prompted

Manually uninstalling McAfee Security for Mac
If the Security for Mac disk image is not available, start Terminal and run the following commands:

  • sudo /Library/McAfee/cma/uninstall.sh
  • sudo /usr/local/McAfee/uninstallMSC

Related links:


Last Updated:
August 17, 2012

Solution ID:
9749