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Scan Your Computer With McAfee Security Center
Last Updated: Tue, 16 Oct 2012 > Related Articles
Summary
Learn how to scan for viruses, set automatic updates and manage firewall settings.
Solution
What is McAfee Security Center?
The Security Center on your computer desktop is part of your free Cox Security Suite Powered by McAfee®. It is a powerful security solution that allows you to monitor the security status on their computer. and to know instantly whether virus, spyware, email, and firewall protection services are up-to-date.
How can it help me?
You can use this tool to set up a virus detection schedule that suits your needs.
To begin, double-click the McAfee Security Center icon in your task bar or on your desktop.
For additional help with any Security Center feature visit the McAfee Community. Click Home and Home Office, then under Communities on the left, click Security Center.
| Perform a computer scan | Schedule future scans | Manage scan settings |
|---|
With Real-Time Scanning you can run a quick, full, or custom scan of your computer to detect viruses, spyware or other threats.
From the Security Center console click Real-Time Scanning.
Choose one of the three (3) available options, as shown below:
To run a Quick or Full scan:
Click one of the first two options and Security Suite automatically begins scanning your computer. Once complete it will report any issues it finds, as shown below:
All steps complete.
To run a Custom scan:
Note: Running a custom scan allows you to choose more advanced settings.
1. Under Customize Your Scan, choose the locations, threat types and file types you want to scan.
2. Click the Scan button.
All steps complete.
Schedule future scans
By default, McAfee performs a scheduled scan at 4 a.m. once a week, but you can modify the schedule to fit your needs. The option Scan using minimal resources is checked by default but you can disable it to increase the speed of the scheduled scan.
Another option, Start scan only when the PC is plugged in, allows you to conserve battery power if your computer is plugged in at the time of a scheduled scan.
To schedule your scan, do the following:
1. Click Real Time Scanning.
2. Choose Schedule a Scan.
3. Choose the desired scheduling options.
4. Click the Apply button.
All steps complete.
Exclude Files and Folders
You can exclude a file or folder so that McAfee does not check it for threats during your custom or scheduled scan. Whenever you want to include the item in your scan you can remove it from your list of excluded files and folders. This allows you to run a custom or scheduled scan and check that item for threats.
To exclude a file or folder, do the following:
1. Click Add file or Add folder
2. When the Open dialog box displays, navigate to the desired file or folder.
3. Click the Apply button.
All steps complete.
Manage scan settings
Just as you would for the custom scan, you can choose the items you want to scan during each scheduled scan, as shown below:
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| File Types |
|
| Attachments and Locations |
|
| Threats |
|
| Extended Protection |
|
| Removable Media Drive |
|
After making your choices, click the Apply button.
All steps complete.
Start Up Settings
If you want your computer to perform a scan on startup, do the following:
Click one of the options, as shown below:
Click the Apply button.
Note: To turn off a scheduled scan click the Turn Off button at the top of the dialog box.
All steps complete.
Additional Resources
Using McAfee Virtual Technician to Check Computer Health
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