Flu Shots for Your Computer

Luckily for people, only fall and winter is flu season. Unluckily for computers, it's always flu season. But computers have a big advantage over us. Their flu shot is foolproof for flu strains over a few days old, and their flu shot manufacturer -- in the case of UIC computers, Symantec -- gets on top of new viruses and worms right away and distributes antiviruses for them generally within a day or so.

And very luckily for us, UIC has a site license for Symantec AntiVirus (SAV), also and formerly known as Norton AntiVirus (NAV), which is widely agreed to be one of the very best antivirus programs around. Our site license allows any member of the UIC community to install Symantec or Norton AntiVirus on any of their computers, either here on campus or at home, for no charge, and also to receive updates for its antivirus definitions as long as our we keep our site license, again at no cost.

We have a new version of SAV (for Windows*) and NAV (for Macs**) now; if you haven't installed it yet or you'd like to upgrade; now's a good time.

If you have any questions on SAV or NAV, go to the CSO or contact the consultants at consult@uic.edu.

* For Windows: SAV CE(Corporate Edition) 8.1 for Windows 98/Me/NT 4.0/2000/XP. SAV 8.1 doesn't support Windows 95, but version 7.61 of NAV is still available, which does. (You can't download it from home though.)

** For Apple Macintoshes running MacOS 8.1 through 9.x and MacOS X (10.1 or greater): NAV 8.0.

And also Novell and Windows NT/2000 Server Editions, which comes on a two CD set for $15 per set. To purchase the CDs or for more information, please send email to software@uic.edu.

1. Uninstall any current antivirus program you might have, including previous versions of Norton AntiVirus:
   1. Click on Start -> Settings -> Control Panel
   2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs
   3. Choose the program you want to uninstall, and select it to uninstall.
   4. Reboot.
      
      
2. Go to http://www.accc.uic.edu/software/antivirus/win.html#Downloading, and follow the instructions to download the self-extracting Zip file for Symantec AntiVirus (SAV). The download has been fixed so that you can now do it even from off-campus after identifying yourself by logging in with your netid and ACCC password with Bluestem.
   
   The file is 34 MB, so it will take a while to download, particularly if you have a modem connection - a couple of hours. Even if the download does take hours, it will be hours well spent.
   
   
3. After the download finishes, go to the directory that you downloaded the file to and double-click on the .exe file you downloaded. The install program should start automatically. Read and accept the license agreement; then follow the instructions to install Symantec AntiVirus. If you use Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes for email, install their snap-ins, otherwise keep the suggested defaults, including running Unmanaged (unless it's for a machine at work and your department's REACH person tells you otherwise) and to install the File System Realtime Protection; they are correct for our use.
   
   
4. At the end of the installation, it will ask whether you want to run LiveUpdate when you finish and may ask you to restart your computer. Click Yes to both. LiveUpdate will either begin then or run automatically when your computer restarts. Keep the default connection method, by the Internet.
   

   Figure 3: Running Windows Live Update Remember that you must be connected to the Internet to run LiveUpdate. Notice that LiveUpdate can update the LiveUpdate and antivirus program as well as the virus definitions.

   
   
5. SAV's File System Realtime Protection inspects for known virus patterns on a continuous basis as you read or write files. It will also remind you if you shutdown your computer with a diskette in your floppy drive. The File System Realtime Protection will be started automatically every time you start Windows; you can see its yellow shield icon in the system tray on the Windows task bar at the bottom of your screen.
   

   Figure 4: Running a Manual Scan in Windows Before you run a scan, click the Options button (lower right) to pick the scan options. The default settings will probably do; just click Save Settings then click OK.

   
   
6. You shouldn't depend entirely on the Realtime File Protection, however. You should schedule regular scans of your entire hard drive.
   1. Open Symantec AntiVirus: Start -> Programs -> Symantec Client Security -> Symantec AntiVirus Client.
   2. Click the Scheduled Scans in the left part of the window; if you reboot daily, you might use a startup scan, but the scan can get in the way of your using your computer.
   3. Click New Scheduled Scan, type a name and description for the scan in the appropriate boxes, then click Next >.
   4. Select Daily, Weekly, or Monthly and select a time at which your computer will be running. Click Next >.
   5. Click in the boxes beside all of your local hard drives to select them for scanning, then click Save.
   6. Click Exit to close Symantec Antivirus.
      
      
   SAV does not have to be running for a scheduled scan to be running, but your computer does have to be on.
   
   
7. You should also schedule LiveUpdate to run on a regular basis. In SAV, select File -> Schedule Updates, and click Enable scheduled automatic updates. Then click the Schedule... button. Run LiveUpdate at least weekly, and be sure to pick a time when your computer will be connected to the Internet. (See figure 5.) When you're finished, click OK, OK, and close SAV.
   

Figure 5: Scheduling Regular LiveUpdates in Windows Remember that you must be connected to the Internet to run LiveUpdate.



8. If you're using Windows 95 or Windows 98, make Emergency Rescue Disks as described in the NAV Getting Started Guide (see Want to know more below.) Make sure you write-protect the Emergency Rescue disks so you don't accidentally change them. Also, you will need to make new ones periodically so they'll have the newest virus definitions.

Print the NAV Getting Started Guide. This four-page PDF will get you started. (NAV and SAV differ mostly in name.) There are links to it and other useful SAV user manuals in the Windows antivirus Web page at http://www.accc.uic.edu/software/antivirus/windows.html

Got a Mac? We've got you covered too. Norton AntiVirus 8.0 for Macs. (Yep, the antivirus for Macs is still Norton.) Remember - our license agreement for Norton/Symantec AntiVirus allows it to be installed on any computer belonging to any member of the UIC community, whether it's on campus or off. Everyone at UIC should use it on all their computers, including Macs.

NAV 8.0 for Macs supports MacOS 8.1 though 9.x and MAC OS X (10.1). In MAC OS X, you must have administrator permissions and must enter your ID and password to install NAV, to run LiveUpdate manually, or to schedule automatic LiveUpdates. The account that scheduled the LiveUpdate has to be logged in to run it.

You will need the StuffIt Expander utility to uncompress the file you download. If you do not have it, you can download it from Aladdin Systems, Inc. (http://www.aladdinsys.com/).

1. Uninstall all other antivirus software you already have installed and restart your Mac.
   
   
2. Go to the Mac antivirus page, http://www.accc.uic.edu/software/antivirus/mac.html, and click on the NAV 8.0 for Macintosh link. The file is very large, so it will take a while to download, even on campus. We don't recommend that you try to download it from from home. Your best bet is to go to an ACCC lab with a Mac that has a CD burner and download it and write it on a CD there to take it home.
   
   
3. Your browser should have automatically uncompressed the file for you. If not, double-click the file name to expand into the same location.
   
   
4. Go to the directory where the file was saved, and double-click the "Install for" icon for your type of MacOS. Double-click the Install Norton AntiVirus icon. If you're installing on MacOS X, it will ask you to enter an administrator ID and password to authenticate the installation. At the the Norton Antivirus welcome screen, click Continue. Read and Accept the license agreement, read the Read Me file, select Easy Install, then follow the prompts. Restart when you're asked to. Note that our access to LiveUpdate continues as long as our site license continues, not for just one year as the installer says.
   
   
5. After the Norton installer finishes and your restart your Mac, run LiveUpdate to update your virus definitions. If you get an error message about NAV when your reboot on MAC OS X, ignore it; it should be fixed when your client gets updated when you run LiveUpdate. LiveUpdate folder -> LiveUpdate -> Update Everything Now button. (See figure 6.) If anything is updated, click Restart when LiveUpdate finishes. Remember that running LiveUpdate requires the computer to be on, Internet access, and, in MAC OS X, the user who scheduled the LiveUpdate to be logged in.
   

   Figure 6: MacOS X LiveUpdate Use Update Everything Now to run LiveUpdate and Norton Scheduler schedules regular updates. The LiveUpdate mail window looks and works very much the same in MacOS 8/9.

   
   
6. Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect protects files as you read and write them, including attachments in Eudora and Outlook. In MacOS 8/9, Auto-Protect comes automatically turned on (click the Preferences button to check; figure 7). In MAC OS X, you have to turn it on if you want to use it. Click the Preferences button, click the Auto-Protect icon, then turn Automatic Scanning and Automatic Repair on. (Figure 8.)
   

   Figure 7: MacOS 8/9 NAV Scan Select files, folders, or disks you want to scan, then click Scan/Repair.

   
   
7. Symantec says that you don't need to run NAV regularly if you run Auto-Protect all the time. But if you'd like to run it, start Norton AntiVirus by double-clicking the Norton AntiVirus icon. In the main window, select a disk, folder, or file to scan from the lists, and click Scan/Repair (figure 7 and figure 8). Or drag and drop a file or folder that you want to scan onto NAV.
   You can also schedule regular scan if you wish. For MAC OS 8/9, start in NAV and select Tools -> Scheduler. For MacOS X, click the Scheduler button; the folder you want to scan is "root": /
   

   Figure 8: MacOS X NAV Scan

   
   
8. It is important to keep your virus protection up-to-date by running LiveUpdate on a regular basis, say once a week.

1. In the LiveUpdate main window, click Schedule Future Updates. This opens the LiveUpdate Scheduler window (figure 9).
   

   Figure 9: MacOS 8/9 LiveUpdate Scheduler

   
   
2. Click New to create a new scheduled event. This opens a dialog box that allows you to enter a name for the event; in the figure, we've called it Weekly. Then click OK.
3. Select Update All from the Event Type: dropdown list.
4. Select weekly from the How Often: list.
5. Select a time and date when the computer will be on and connected to the Internet.
6. Click Done.

1. In the NAV main window (figure 8), click Scheduler.
2. Click the LiveUpdate icon to open the Add LiveUpdate Task window (figure 10).
   

   Figure 10: MacOS X LiveUpdate Scheduler

   
   
3. Enter a name for the task in the text box at the top.
4. Select All Products as the products to update.
5. Select a frequency; we recommend Weekly.
6. Select a day and time when the Mac will be connected to the Internet and the person scheduling the LiveUpdate will be logged into it.
7. Click the red button at the top left to close the window.
8. In the Save LiveUpdate Task dialog box, click Save (figure 11).
   

   Figure 11: MacOS X Save LiveUpdate Task Dialog

I can't offer you a short and sweet PDF file for SAV beginners, but there are links to Symantec's long and good user's guide and other useful manuals in the Mac antivirus Web page at http://www.accc.uic.edu/software/antivirus/mac.html.

Northwestern University has a good, reasonably short how to install NAV for Macs (both versions) page at http://www.tss.northwestern.edu/virus/nav-mac.html.

Whatever type of computer you have, whatever operating system, you owe it to yourself -- and to the rest of us -- to get and install antivirus software, run it all the time, and keep it up to date. Computer viruses are nasty, embarrassing things. You don't want to find out about them first hand.

Comments are welcome; please send them
to Judith Grobe Sachs, judygs@uic.edu