PERFORMANCE NOTES

Instructions to install and configure VirusBarrier are listed below. Though there are many more options available, any not mentioned here should be left at the defaults.

Using anti-malware software is a trade-off. Getting infected is both a huge pain and expense, as it typically destroys your backup drives and data as well, forcing you to rebuild your machine from scratch. But, to do it’s work, anti-malware software does take memory and CPU time. Though this typically does not impact the end user, a few may notice a slow down. Settings that can be modified to reduce this slowdown are in red.


PURCHASE AND DOWNLOAD

1. Visit the Intego website.
2. For most users, select the VirusBarrier X6 product. However, they have several other products that may be of better use for you:

• Internet Security Barrier - Provides a suite of security products, including VirusBarrier.
• Dual Protection - For those that have Windows on their Mac, this includes anti-malware for Windows as well as Mac.

3. Select your product and pay for it.
4. You will immediately receive an email with a link to download your product. Download and install.


CONFIGURE NETUPDATE

Configuring NetUpdate (the program that automatically updates all of the Intego products) could be a bit more intuitive.

1. After the installation, your computer will reboot.
2. From the menu bar, select the VirusBarrier icon and select the NetUpdate submenu.



3. NetUpdate will automatically check for software updates. When found and asked if you want to update, click the Yes button.
4. Depending on the update, your system may or may not restart after download.
5. Once updated, select the Scheduling button. Specify to Automatically check for updates Daily, and to perform Background updates.
6. Quit NetUpdate.


CONFIGURE VIRUSBARRIER

1. From the Intego menu bar icon, select VirusBarrier.



2. The VirusBarrier main window will open.



3. From the main window tool bar, select the Trusted Files button. By default, VirusBarrier will scan every CD, DVD, network drive, flash drive, etc. that it sees. This is a good thing. However, there are storage devices that you can trust to be safe and do not need to be scanned. Your Time Machine backup drive comes to mind. Any storage device that you trust may be dragged into this window.



4a. From tool bar, select the Schedules button. As best practices, I strongly recommend configuring Events so that When volumes are mounted they are Repaired. However, this will slow down your computer as VB scans and repairs the mounted drives. If you want to keep performance at the highest level, you can set this to Do Nothing.

4b. Hundreds of new viruses are released daily. It is possible that you were one of those infected with a brand new virus that your current VB doesn’t know about. But with tomorrows VB update, it could find and remove it. But only if you have After virus definition updates: Scan, Quick Scan, or Repair. But as above, this will slow down your computer as VB rescans your drive after each update.

• Scan will scan your entire hard drive for malware. This takes the longest amount of time. Depending on the size of your drive, it could take a day or more.
• Quick Scan only scans those folders that are most likely to harbour malware. This typically only takes a couple of minutes.
• Repair will scan your entire drive (just like Scan), but instead of asking you what to do, it will automatically attempt to repair the infested or corrupted file.

5a. From the tool bar, select the Scan Settings button. Then select the Real-Time Scanner tab.

• Turn the Real-Time Scanner ON. This function will scan files and applications as they open, catching malware before it can activate.
• When malware is found: Best Practice is Repair. This will have VB automatically attempt to remove the malware and fix the file. If it cannot be fixed, the file will be placed in Quarantine. This prevents the file and malware from being launched. From here you can delete the file.
• Enable Remove quarantine marker after scanning uninfected files. You may have noticed that after downloading a file from the Internet and launching it for the first time, a warning appears. This option removes the warning since VB has already verified the file to be in good shape.
• Enable Behavioral Analysis. This helps VB catch malware that has not yet been discovered and made part of standard scanning. Disabling Behavioral Analysis introduces a small additional risk of infection, but frees up CPU time for your other work.

5b. Select the Archives tab.

• Set Scan Archives to ON. This allows VB to scan compressed files.
• Enable all archive types. If any are not enabled, VB cannot scan these file types.
• Archive Timeout: 60 seconds. If it takes VB longer than this setting to scan an archive, it aborts scanning that archive and moves on to the next.

5c. Select the Advanced tab.

• Set CPU and disk priority for scan operations to HIGH. This allows your computer to run at the fastest speed possible during scans, giving VB lower priority.
• Disable Skip Boot Camp Volumes, otherwise VB cannot scan your windows Boot Camp. If you don’t have Boot Camp, it doesn’t matter.
• On-Demand Scanner Behavior. These are settings for when you drag a file or folder onto the VB Dock icon for manual/on-demand scanning. All should be enabled.
• Scan For: Enable all items. Why would you want to skip scanning for a particular malware?
• Consider These Items as Threats: Enable both items. Hacking tools may not be malware in and of themselves, but they provide the tools for someone to access your computer. Keyloggers are a very common application installed with Trojans. They record every keystroke (including usernames and passwords), and send the information to the hacker.

6a. From the tool bar, select Firewall. Select the Firewall Rules tab. This window specifies who gets to communicate with your computer. In virtually all cases, you do want your computer accessible to others on your local network, but inaccessible to hackers outside of your network.

• Select Client, local server.

6b. Select the Trojan tab. Trojans are malware disguised as either known or desired applications. When launched, they perform actions that are not expected, such as installing keyloggers, erasing your drive, sending your passwords to the hacker, etc.

• Turn Trojan Horse Protection ON.
• Enable all of the listed Trojans.

7. From the tool bar, select the Surf button. Then select the Anti-Phishing tab. Phishing is an attempt by a hacker to obtain personal information from you, typically by appearing as a known, trusted web site (such as your bank). These attempts are so good that it may be almost impossible for most people to spot the fake. It is vital to enable this function in VB.

• Turn Fraudulent website protection ON.

8. From the tool bar, select the Privacy button. Then select the Anti-Spyware tab. Spyware is software hidden on your computer designed to gather personal information and forward it to the hacker.

• Turn Spyware Protection ON.
• Click the Options button in the lower left corner.
• Enable Trust System Processes
• Enable Play Sound, select VirusBarrier

9. Now, let’s scan your entire drive for malware. This is only necessary the first time you install VirusBarrier.

• From the tool bar, select the Overview button.
• Click the Full Scan button (bottom center of the window)

This process may take a day or more, depending on the size of your drive and speed of your computer. Once complete, VB only needs to scan new files, new email, or disks as they are attached.

10. This may be the most important step of all. If after configuring your system as defined in the red sections above you still find your computer too sluggish, you can TEMPORARILY turn off your real-time scanning, functionally disabling VirusBarrier. Do keep in mind that should you open an infected email or infected file, you may be toast! But if you are just working with files known to be in good health, it cannot hurt you to turn off real-time scanning. To do so:

• From the Intego icon in the menu bar, select (disable) Real-Time Scanner.
• When you need to open email or other files that you are not 100% certain as to their integrity, repeat the previous step to enable Real-Time Scanning.

Tags: virus, Intego VirusBarrier