McAfee AVDCDE-AA-AA User Guide - Page 132

Using the VShield Scanner This option ensures that viruses do not spread from compressed files, but because the module uncompresses these files before it scans them, choosing this option can lengthen the time it takes to scan a given set of files as you work with your computer. Š NOTE: When the Download Scan module examines a file archive, it will scan only the file archive itself, not the compressed files within the archive. To learn which files and archives the module scans, see "Current list of compressed files scanned" on page 292. 3. Turn on heuristic scanning. Click Advanced to open the Advanced Scan Settings dialog box (Figure 4-11). Figure 4-27. Advanced Scan Settings dialog box Heuristic scanning technology enables the Download Scan module to recognize new viruses based on their resemblance to similar viruses that the module already knows. To do this, the module looks for certain "virus-like" characteristics in the files you've asked it to scan. The presence of a sufficient number of these characteristics in a file leads the module to identify the file as potentially infected with a new or previously unidentified virus. Because the Download Scan module looks simultaneously for file characteristics that rule out the possibility of virus infection, it will rarely give you a false indication of a virus infection. Therefore, unless you know that the file does not contain a virus, you should treat "potential" infections with the same caution you would confirmed infections. The Download Scan module starts out without any heuristic scan options active. To activate heuristics scanning, follow these substeps: a. Select the Enable heuristics scanning checkbox. The remaining options in the dialog box activate. b. Select the types of heuristics scanning you want the Download Scan module to use. Your choices are: 132 McAfee VirusScan Anti-Virus Software