For anyone who has had some experience using McAfee Internet Security Suite, the name ActiveShield is sure to be familiar. ActiveShield is the component of McAfee Internet Security Suite that is responsible for monitoring incoming and outgoing traffic in order to detect and block threats to your personal computer. Of course as with any antivirus program designed to protect a personal computer, you will need to make sure that you properly configure the ActiveShield component of McAfee Internet Security Suite to ensure the maximum protection for your computer.
In order to start properly configuring ActiveShield, you will need to open the McAfee VirusScan Options window. The first option on this window gives you the choice of whether or not ActiveShield will automatically start when your computer starts up. You can disable this feature, but it is highly discouraged since your computer will only be protected when you manually start ActiveShield, which leaves your computer in a very vulnerable state if you forget.
The second option gives you the choice of whether or not you would like email messages that are being sent or received to be scanned, including any attachements that are included in them. It is highly recommended that you also leave this option enabled unless you have some other type of protection with your email client. This option will sometimes slow down the performance of an email client on slower computers, but the wait is well worth the peace of mind.
The last option that is presented to you on the McAfee VirusScan Options window is whether or not you want ActiveShield to monitor instant messaging programs. This includes programs such as MSN Messenger and Google Talk. ActiveShield will scan any files that are sent using these programs. Most computer users will want to leave this option checked, but if you do not use instant messaging programs, it will not hurt to disable it. Just don’t forget to go back and enable this option if you decide to use instant messaging programs in the future.
You will also notice that there is an Advanced button on the bottom of this options screen. Clicking on this button will open a new menu in which you can configure more advanced options for ActiveShield. In this menu there is an option to scan for new unknown viruses. This option will activate heuristic detection. This means that the ActiveShield will use characteristics from past viruses and worms to make an educated guess about new viruses that may be sent to your computer. This technique is definitely not going to detect all of the new viruses that are out there, but it is a good idea to activate it so that McAfee has a better chance of catching viruses that a virus definition has not been created for yet. You can also select which types of files you would like this scan to be performed on. Of course it is recommended that you scan all files for the best protection.
Other advanced options of ActiveShield include email scanning advanced options, where the types of files to scan can be selected and what to do when a threat is detected can be configured. It is also a good idea to enable the scanning of outgoing attachments to help protect other people in your contact list. ScriptStopper and WormStopper can also be enabled in the advanced options. It is recommended that you activate these features as the performance tradeoff is worth the added protection. If you are running a slower computer or are not as concerned about threats from these sources, you can always disable these two features to increase your computer’s speed.
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