NC State distributes a managed version of the Symantec AntiVirus software, tailored for your operating system, which you can choose from the Download Free Antivirus Now page. Its key features are:
- Automatically updates your software whenever Symantec issues modifications
- Automatically updates your virus definitions on a schedule that you can set up
For the managed version to work properly, your computer must stay connected to the Symantec AntiVirus servers at NC State. Those servers will update your Symantec AntiVirus program every 76 minutes.
Each time you connect to the Internet, your ISP assigns you a new IP address, which the servers use to automatically update both your antivirus software and virus definitions. If the IP address that the servers have for you is more than eight days old, the servers will drop it and stop sending you automatic updates.
To maintain your connection to the servers, connect to the Internet at least once a week and run LiveUpdate. If your virus definitions are out-of-date for more than 25 days, your Symantec AntiVirus software will display a warning message.
After you've downloaded and installed the software, here's how you can tell if it is connecting correctly to the NC State servers:
- Double click on the yellow Symantec AntiVirus shield in your system tray.
- In the window that opens, look in the General Information section. Below is a screenshot of this window as it appears in Symantec AntiVirus 9.
- Look at the Parent server information.
- If the server's name is in the format UNIxxNT or AVxx (examples: UNI05NT, AV00), then you have the managed version.
- If the Parent server line is blank, your virus definitions are not being updated automatically.
Page last modified September 5, 2007 by helee2