Customer and Technical Support.................................................................................. 255
Using McAfee Virtual Technician ........................................................................ 256
Index 267
C HAPTER 1
McAfee Total Protection
More than just security for your computer, Total Protection is a
complete defense system for you and your family as you work or
play online. You can use Total Protection to protect your
computer against viruses, hackers, and spyware; monitor
Internet traffic for suspicious activity; guard your family’s
privacy; block risky Web sites; and more.
About McAfee ..............................................................253
Customer and Technical Support.............................. 255
3
C HAPTER 2
McAfee SecurityCenter
McAfee SecurityCenter allows you to monitor your computer's
security status, know instantly whether your computer's virus,
spyware, e-mail, and firewall protection services are up-to-date,
and act on potential security vulnerabilities. It provides the
navigational tools and controls you need to coordinate and
manage all areas of your computer's protection.
Before you begin configuring and managing your computer's
protection, review the SecurityCenter interface and make sure
that you understand the difference between protection status,
protection categories, and protection services. Then, update
SecurityCenter to ensure that you have the latest protection
available from McAfee.
After your initial configuration tasks are complete, you use
SecurityCenter to monitor your computer's protection status. If
SecurityCenter detects a protection problem, it alerts you so that
you can either fix or ignore the problem (depending on its
severity). You can also review SecurityCenter events, such as virus
scanning configuration changes, in an event log.
5
Note: SecurityCenter reports critical and non-critical protection
problems as soon as it detects them. If you need help diagnosing
your protection problems, you can run McAfee Virtual
Technician.
In this chapter
SecurityCenter features ..............................................6
Using SecurityCenter.................................................. 7
Fixing or ignoring protection problems ....................16
Working with alerts .....................................................21
Easily review your computer's protection status, check for
updates, and fix protection problems.
SecurityCenter automatically downloads and installs updates for
your programs. When a new version of a McAfee program is
available, it is automatically delivered to your computer as long as
your subscription is valid, ensuring that you always have
up-to-date protection.
Security alerts notify you of emergency virus outbreaks and
security threats.
C HAPTER 3
Using SecurityCenter
Before you begin using SecurityCenter, review the components
and configuration areas you will use to manage your computer's
protection status. For more information about the terminology
used in this image, see
and
Understanding protection categories (page 9). Then, you can
review your McAfee account information and verifying the
validity of your subscription.
Your computer's protection status is shown in the protection
status area on the SecurityCenter Home pane. It indicates
whether your computer is fully protected against the latest
security threats and can be influenced by things like external
security attacks, other security programs, and programs that
access the Internet.
Your computer's protection status can be red, yellow, or green.
Protection Status Description
Red Your computer is not protected. The protection
status area on the SecurityCenter Home pane is
red and states that you are not protected.
SecurityCenter reports at least one critical
security problem.
To achieve full protection, you must fix all
critical security problems in each protection
category (the problem category's status is set to
Action Required, also in red). For information
about how to fix protection problems, see
protection problems
(page 17).
Fixing
Yellow Your computer is partially protected. The
protection status area on the SecurityCenter
Home pane is yellow and states that you are not
protected. SecurityCenter reports at least one
non-critical security problem.
To achieve full protection, you must fix or ignore
the non-critical security problems associated
with each protection category. For information
about how to fix or ignore protection problems,
Fixing or ignoring protection problems
see
(page 16).
Green Your computer is fully protected. The protection
status area on the SecurityCenter Home pane is
green and states that you are protected.
SecurityCenter does not report any critical or
non-critical security problems.
Each protection category lists the services that
are protecting your computer.
Chapter 3 McAfee Total Protection 9
Understanding protection categories
SecurityCenter's protection services are divided into four
categories: Computer & Files, Internet & Network, E-mail & IM,
and Parental Controls. These categories help you to browse and
configure the security services protecting your computer.
Click a category name to configure its protection services and
view any security problems detected for those services. If your
computer's protection status is red or yellow, one or more
categories display an Action Required or Attention message,
indicating that SecurityCenter has detected a problem within the
category. For more information about protection status, see
Understanding protection status (page 8).
Protection Category Description
Computer & Files The Computer & Files category lets you
configure the following protection services:
Virus Protection
Spyware Protection
SystemGuards
Windows Protection
PC Health
Internet & Network The Internet & Network category lets you
configure the following protection services:
Firewall Protection
Phishing Protection
Identity Protection
E-mail & IM The E-mail & IM category lets you configure
the following protection services:
E-mail Virus Protection
IM Virus Protection
E-mail Spyware Protection
IM Spyware Protection
Spam Protection
Parental Controls The Parental Controls category lets you
configure the following protection services:
Content Blocking
10 McAfee Total Protection
Understanding protection services
Protection services are the various security components that you
configure to protect your computer and files. Protection services
directly correspond to McAfee programs. For example, when you
install VirusScan, the following protection services become
available: Virus Protection, Spyware Protection, SystemGuards,
and Script Scanning. For detailed information about these
particular protection services, see the VirusScan help.
By default, all protection services associated with a program are
enabled when you install the program; however you can disable a
protection service at any time. For example, if you install Parental
Controls, Content Blocking and Identity Protection are both
enabled. If you do not intend to use the Content Blocking
protection service, you can disable it entirely. You can also
temporarily disable a protection service while performing setup
or maintenance tasks.
Chapter 3 McAfee Total Protection 11
Managing your subscriptions
Each McAfee protection product that you purchase comes with a
subscription that lets you use the product on a certain number of
computers for a certain period of time. The length of your
subscription varies according to your purchase, but usually starts
when you activate your product. Activation is simple and
free—all you need is an Internet connection—but it's very
important because it entitles you to receive regular, automatic
product updates that keep your computer protected from the
latest threats.
Activation normally occurs when the product is installed, but if
you decide to wait (for example, if you don't have an Internet
connection), you have 15 days to activate. If you don't activate
within 15 days, your products will no longer receive critical
updates or perform scans. We'll also notify you periodically (with
onscreen messages) before your subscription is about to expire.
That way you can avoid interruptions in your protection by
renewing it early or by setting up auto-renewal on our Web site.
If you see a link in SecurityCenter prompting you to activate, then
your subscription has not been activated. To see your
subscription's expiration date, you can check your Account page.
Access your McAfee account
You can easily access your McAfee account information (your
Account page) from SecurityCenter.
1 Under Common Tasks, click My Account.
2 Log in to your McAfee account.
Activate your product
Activation normally occurs when you install your product. But if
it hasn't, you'll see a link in SecurityCenter prompting you to
activate. We'll also notify you periodically.
On the SecurityCenter Home pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Please activate your subscription.
Tip: You can also activate from the alert that periodically
appears.
Verify your subscription
You verify your subscription to ensure that it has not yet expired.
Right-click the SecurityCenter icon
in the notification area
at the far right of your taskbar, and then click Verify
Subscription.
12 McAfee Total Protection
Renew your subscription
Shortly before your subscription is about to expire, you'll see a
link in SecurityCenter prompting you to renew. We'll also notify
you periodically about pending expiration with alerts.
On the SecurityCenter Home pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Renew.
Tip: You can also renew your product from the notification
message that periodically appears. Or, go to your Account page,
where you can renew or set up auto-renewal.
C HAPTER 4
13
Updating SecurityCenter
SecurityCenter ensures that your registered McAfee programs are
current by checking for and installing online updates every four
hours. Depending on the programs you have installed and
activated, online updates may include the latest virus definitions
and hacker, spam, spyware, or privacy protection upgrades. If
you want to check for updates within the default four hour
period, you can do so at any time. While SecurityCenter is
checking for updates, you can continue to perform other tasks.
Although it is not recommended, you can change the way
SecurityCenter checks for and installs updates. For example, you
can configure SecurityCenter to download but not install updates
or to notify you before downloading or installing updates. You
can also disable automatic updating.
Note: If you installed your McAfee product from a CD, you must
activate within 15 days or your products will not receive critical
updates or perform scans.
In this chapter
Check for updates .......................................................13
By default, SecurityCenter automatically checks for updates every
four hours when your computer is connected to the Internet;
however, if you want to check for updates within the four hour
period, you can do so. If you have disabled automatic updates, it
is your responsibility to check for updates regularly.
On the SecurityCenter Home pane, click Update.
Tip: You can check for updates without launching SecurityCenter
by right-clicking the SecurityCenter icon in the notification
area at the far right of your taskbar, and then clicking Updates.
14 McAfee Total Protection
Configure automatic updates
By default, SecurityCenter automatically checks for and installs
updates every four hours when your computer is connected to
the Internet. If you want to change this default behavior, you can
configure SecurityCenter to automatically download updates and
then notify you when the updates are ready to be installed or to
notify you before downloading the updates.
Note: SecurityCenter notifies you when updates are ready to be
downloaded or installed using alerts. From the alerts, you can
either download or install the updates, or postpone the updates.
When you update your programs from an alert, you may be
prompted to verify your subscription before downloading and
installing. For more information, see Working with alerts (page
21).
1 Open the SecurityCenter Configuration pane.
How?
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
2 On the SecurityCenter Configuration pane, under Automatic
updates are disabled, click On, and then click Advanced.
3 Click one of the following buttons:
Install the updates automatically and notify me when
my services are updated (recommended)
Download the updates automatically and notify me
when they are ready to be installed
Notify me before downloading any updates
4 Click OK.
Disable automatic updates
If you disable automatic updates, it is your responsibility to check
for updates regularly; otherwise, your computer will not have the
latest security protection. For information about checking for
updates manually, see
Check for updates (page 13).
1 Open the SecurityCenter Configuration pane.
How?
Chapter 4 McAfee Total Protection 15
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
2 On the SecurityCenter Configuration pane, under Automatic
updates are enabled, click Off.
3 In the confirmation dialog box, click Yes.
Tip: You enable automatic updates by clicking the On button or
by clearing Disable automatic updating and let me manually
check for updates on the Update Options pane.
16 McAfee Total Protection
Fixing or ignoring protection problems
SecurityCenter reports critical and non-critical protection
problems as soon as it detects them. Critical protection problems
require immediate action and compromise your protection status
(changing the color to red). Non-critical protection problems do
not require immediate action and may or may not compromise
your protection status (depending on the type of problem). To
achieve a green protection status, you must fix all critical
problems and either fix or ignore all non-critical problems. If you
need help diagnosing your protection problems, you can run
McAfee Virtual Technician. For more information about McAfee
Virtual Technician, see the McAfee Virtual Technician help.
Most security problems can be fixed automatically; however,
some problems may require you to take action. For example, if
Firewall Protection is disabled, SecurityCenter can enable it
automatically; however, if Firewall Protection is not installed, you
must install it. The following table describes some other actions
that you might take when fixing protection problems manually:
Problem Action
A full scan of your computer has
not been performed in the last 30
days.
Scan your computer manually. For
more information, see the VirusScan
help.
Your detection signature files
(DATs) are out-of-date.
A program is not installed. Install the program from the McAfee
A program is missing
components.
A program is not activated, and
cannot receive full protection.
Your subscription has expired. Check your account status on the
Update your protection manually.
For more information, see the
VirusScan help.
Web site or CD.
Reinstall the program from the
McAfee Web site or CD.
Activate the program on the McAfee
Web site.
McAfee Web site. For more
information, see
subscriptions
Managing your
(page 11).
Note: Often, a single protection problem affects more than one
protection category. In this case, fixing the problem in one
category clears it from all other protection categories.
Fix protection problems automatically
SecurityCenter can fix most protection problems automatically.
The configuration changes that SecurityCenter makes when
automatically fixing protection problems are not recorded in the
event log. For more information about events, see
Viewing events
(page 27).
1 Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2 On the SecurityCenter Home pane, in the protection status
area, click Fix.
18 McAfee Total Protection
Fix protection problems manually
If one or more protection problems persist after you try to fix
them automatically, you can fix the problems manually.
1 Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2 On the SecurityCenter Home pane, click the protection
category in which SecurityCenter reports the problem.
3 Click the link following the description of the problem.
Chapter 4 McAfee Total Protection 19
Ignoring protection problems
If SecurityCenter detects a non-critical problem, you can either
fix or ignore it. Other non-critical problems (for example, if
Anti-Spam or Parental Controls are not installed) are
automatically ignored. Ignored problems are not shown in the
protection category information area on the SecurityCenter
Home pane, unless your computer's protection status is green. If
you ignore a problem, but later decide that you want it to appear
in the protection category information area even when your
computer's protection status is not green, you can show the
ignored problem.
Ignore a protection problem
If SecurityCenter detects a non-critical problem that you do not
intend to fix, you can ignore it. Ignoring it removes the problem
from the protection category information area in SecurityCenter.
1 Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2 On the SecurityCenter Home pane, click the protection
category in which the problem is reported.
3 Click the Ignore link beside the protection problem.
Show or hide ignored problems
Depending on its severity, you can show or hide an ignored
protection problem.
1 Open the Alert Options pane.
How?
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
3. Under Alerts, click Advanced.
2 On the SecurityCenter Configuration pane, click Ignored
Problems.
3 On the Ignored Problems pane, do the following:
To ignore a problem, select its check box.
To report a problem in the protection category
information area, clear its check box.
20 McAfee Total Protection
4 Click OK.
Tip: You can also ignore a problem by clicking the Ignore link
beside the reported problem in the protection category
information area.
C HAPTER 5
Working with alerts
Alerts are small pop-up dialog boxes that appear in the
bottom-right corner of your screen when certain SecurityCenter
events occur. An alert provides detailed information about an
event as well as recommendations and options for resolving
problems that may be associated with the event. Some alerts also
contain links to additional information about the event. These
links let you launch McAfee's global Web site or send information
to McAfee for troubleshooting.
There are three types of alerts: red, yellow, and green.
Alert Type Description
Red A red alert is a critical notification that requires a
21
response from you. Red alerts occur when
SecurityCenter cannot determine how to fix a
protection problem automatically.
Yellow A yellow alert is a non-critical notification that
usually requires a response from you.
Green A green alert is a non-critical notification that does
not require a response from you. Green alerts
provide basic information about an event.
Because alerts play such an important role in monitoring and
managing your protection status, you cannot disable them.
However, you can control whether certain types of informational
alerts appear and configure some other alert options (such as
whether SecurityCenter plays a sound with an alert or displays
the McAfee splash screen on startup).
In this chapter
Showing and hiding informational alerts..................22
Informational alerts notify you when events occur that do not
pose threats to your computer's security. For example, if you
have set up Firewall Protection, an informational alert appears by
default whenever a program on your computer is granted access
to the Internet. If you do not want a specific type of informational
alert to appear, you can hide it. If you do not want any
informational alerts to appear, you can hide them all. You can
also hide all informational alerts when you play a game in
full-screen mode on your computer. When you finish playing the
game and exit full-screen mode, SecurityCenter starts displaying
informational alerts again.
If you mistakenly hide an informational alert, you can show it
again at any time. By default, SecurityCenter shows all
informational alerts.
Show or hide informational alerts
You can configure SecurityCenter to show some informational
alerts and hide others, or to hide all informational alerts.
1 Open the Alert Options pane.
How?
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
3. Under Alerts, click Advanced.
2 On the SecurityCenter Configuration pane, click
Informational Alerts.
3 On the Informational Alerts pane, do the following:
To show an informational alert, clear its check box.
To hide an informational alert, select its check box.
To hide all informational alerts, select the Do not show
informational alerts check box.
4 Click OK.
Tip: You can also hide an informational alert by selecting the Do
not show this alert again check box in the alert itself. If you do
so, you can show the informational alert again by clearing the
appropriate check box on the Informational Alerts pane.
Chapter 5 McAfee Total Protection 23
Show or hide informational alerts when gaming
You can hide informational alerts when you are playing a game in
full-screen mode on your computer. When you finish the game
and exit full-screen mode, SecurityCenter starts displaying
informational alerts again.
1 Open the Alert Options pane.
How?
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
3. Under Alerts, click Advanced.
2 On the Alert Options pane, select or clear the Show
informational alerts when gaming mode is detected
check box.
3 Click OK.
24 McAfee Total Protection
Configuring alert options
The appearance and frequency of alerts is configured by
SecurityCenter; however, you can adjust some basic alert options.
For example, you can play a sound with alerts or hide the splash
screen alert from displaying when Windows starts. You can also
hide alerts that notify you about virus outbreaks and other
security threats in the online community.
Play a sound with alerts
If you want to receive an audible indication that an alert has
occurred, you can configure SecurityCenter to play a sound with
each alert.
1 Open the Alert Options pane.
How?
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
3. Under Alerts, click Advanced.
2 On the Alert Options pane, under Sound, select the Play a
sound when an alert occurs check box.
Hide the splash screen at startup
By default, the McAfee splash screen appears briefly when
Windows starts, notifying you that SecurityCenter is protecting
your computer. However, you can hide the splash screen if you
do not want it to appear.
1 Open the Alert Options pane.
How?
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
3. Under Alerts, click Advanced.
2 On the Alert Options pane, under Splash Screen, clear the
Show the McAfee splash screen when Windows starts
check box.
Tip: You can show the splash screen again at any time by
selecting the Show the McAfee splash screen when Windows
starts check box.
Chapter 5 McAfee Total Protection 25
Hide virus outbreak alerts
You can hide alerts that notify you about virus outbreaks and
other security threats in the online community.
1 Open the Alert Options pane.
How?
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
3. Under Alerts, click Advanced.
2 On the Alert Options pane, clear the Alert me when a virus
or security threat occurs check box.
Tip: You can show virus outbreak alerts at any time by selecting
the Alert me when a virus or security threat occurs check box.
Hide security messages
You can hide security notifications about protecting more
computers on your home network. These messages provide
information about your subscription, the number of computers
you can protect with your subscription, and how to extend your
subscription to protect even more computers.
1 Open the Alert Options pane.
How?
1. Under Common Tasks, click Home.
2. On the right pane, under SecurityCenter
Information, click Configure.
3. Under Alerts, click Advanced.
2 On the Alert Options pane, clear the Show virus advisories
or other security messages check box.
Tip: You can show these security messages at any time by
selecting the Show virus advisories or other security
messages check box.
C HAPTER 6
Viewing events
27
An event is an action or configuration change that occurs within a
protection category and its related protection services. Different
protection services record different types of events. For example,
SecurityCenter records an event if a protection service is enabled
or disabled; Virus Protection records an event each time a virus is
detected and removed; and Firewall Protection records an event
each time an Internet connection attempt is blocked. For more
information about protection categories, see
protection categories
(page 9).
Understanding
You can view events when troubleshooting configuration issues
and reviewing operations performed by other users. Many
parents use the event log to monitor their children's behavior on
the Internet. You view recent events if you want to examine only
the last 30 events that occurred. You view all events if you want to
examine a comprehensive list of all events that occurred. When
you view all events, SecurityCenter launches the event log, which
sorts events according to the protection category in which they
occurred.