It's finally getting to the point where everybody has installed an anti-virus program in his or her PC. Oh, there are still exceptions, but I figure that their friends will be coming down the street with lit torches soon anyhow. But, an anti-virus program is only as good as its updates. There is little use in checking for last year's virus - you need to be absolutely up to date, even on a daily basis.
The reason that I like Norton Anti-Virus (NAV) from Symantec is that I believe it has the best automatic update system (they call it Live Update). You basically don't have to do a thing - updates are downloaded and installed automatically for you. This works best, of course, if you have a full-time broadband Internet connection, but still works OK for dial-up as long as you stay on long enough for Live Update to do its job.
Infortunately, there is trouble in paradise and I have seen problems with Live Update on new XP based computer installations. I did a bit of research and here is what I found. This is something that any Windows 2000 or XP user should check into, even if they are not running NAV. I do not believe this problem exists in Windows 98 or Me versions.
In order to perform the Live Update, there has to be something in the PC software that automatically starts this task at a certain time or times of the day - called a Task Scheduler. In the dim past, Symantec used its own task scheduler, with mixed results. They eventually decided to use the task scheduler built into Windows. This was a good move, as I always believe that it is better to use an available system resource then to program your own.
Many people don't know that the Task Scheduler even exists. To see it, go to Start / Control Panel / Scheduled Tasks. In XP, if you are using the standard Control Panel instead of the classic version, you will have to click on "Performance and Maintenance" first.
You will see a list of scheduled tasks, the time and interval they are supposed to run at, the last time run, and a result code. NAV usually puts two entries in - one to check for updates (i.e. run Live Update) labeled Symantec NetDetect, and one to do the actual scan. Carefully check the last run time on both- if correct, then you do not have the problem and can now quit reading my column (for this week, anyhow!).
If the last run time is Never or otherwise not correct, this may be the cause of the problem. Windows 2000 and XP are multi-user systems - this means that you can have more than one logon name. This lets more than one person use the PC and keeps their files separate. Each user logon should have a password - these passwords are the basis of Windows security and sharing of data between users and PCs.
The problem with Task Scheduler is simply this: you cannot properly schedule a task unless you have a password. If you manually add a task, you will actually be prompted for it. But NAV when installing does not set the password (it doesn't know) and thus its scheduled tasks fail. The easy solution is just to assign a password. Go to Start / Control Panel / Users and Passwords (in Win2000) or User Accounts (in XP) and follow the directions to change an account and add a password. Of course, you need to remember the password! At this point, log off and then log on with the new password.
You then need to reestablish the Task Scheduler tasks. The easiest way to do this is to open the Task Scheduler as above, right click on each task, select Properties, and then click Set Password and OK when you are done. To test the task, right click and select Run. The task should then run and (when finished) the last run time correctly updated.
The downside of all this is that now you have to enter a password whenever you turn on your PC and log on. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if you can't stand it, go to www.Microsoft.com, search for TWEAKUI, and install the Power Toys for your OS. TWEAKUI is one of those toys, and it will allow you to set a default logon and password at power on. You should see TWEAKUI in the Control Panel, run it and click on the Logon tab.
One last point on NAV Live Update: There are occasionally some things that cannot be automatically updated. I suggest that you open the NAV main screen and click on Live Update once a week to be sure.
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).