Document last modified on Friday, November 17, 2006

Symantec AntiVirus at ETSU Knowledge Base

Here you will find answers to common questions about Symantec AntiVirus, both at home and installed on ETSU equipment.

Windows 98 refuses to install this program.  Why?

Installation of Symantec AntiVirus requires several Windows components to be the newest available version before installation can succeed.  Using Internet Explorer, visit the Microsoft Update website and make sure all critical patches and operating system updates (the language updates are optional) have been downloaded and installed.  Symantec AntiVirus also requires an update to the Root Certificate store, which isn't available via the Microsoft Update.

My computer seems slower after installing the antivirus program.  Is this a common problem?

When Symantec AntiVirus is first installed, it performs a system scan in the background.  Your computer will probably perform more slowly for the first couple of hours it is running after initial installation.  This performance hit should subside shortly.

It has been reported on some computers that there is quite a bit of fragmentation on the hard drive after installing Symantec AntiVirus.  Defragmenting will significantly improve performance in many cases.  Go to your Start menu --> All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools, where you will find Disk Defragmenter.

How do I update my virus definitions?  How do I schedule automatic scans?

Both at home and on campus, Symantec AntiVirus is automatically configured to install available updates daily, as well as perform weekly full-system scans.  This option can be changed in the virus scanner's console window under View --> Scheduled Scans.

Do I still need a spyware scanner?

Most spyware and malware will be detected and removed by this antivirus program.  However, no program is 100% effective at detecting every kind of malware.  Running other spyware scanners occasionally might provide removal of malware Symantec failed to detect.

This site is provided by the Office of Information Technology.  with questions or comments about virus issues at ETSU.