EasyApps Classic, EasyApps
Professional, and AgencyPro for Windows INFORMATIONAL BULLETIN
This informational Bulletin
applies to:
The Use of Norton Antivirus
with Agency Software Products
Problem: Over the last several months, we have received numerous complaints
regarding the use of Norton Antivirus with Agency Software products. Some customers are complaining of severe
speed degradation and/or frequent lock-ups, particularly in a network
environment.
Reason: Norton Antivirus, while being the top selling and most highly regarded
anti-virus software in the world, is extremely aggressive about opening and
scanning files for virus patterns for over 200,000 known viruses each and every
time a file is accessed when Auto-Protect is enabled. Since Agency
Software programs maintain a large number of insurance related files (about
3,500 files per program) the impact of opening and scanning each file every time
it is accessed is much more apparent that running other programs such as
Microsoft Word® – where you would be accessing ten or less files at a
time. The delay that occurs while a file
is being opened and scanned is particularly noticeable when running over a
network – especially so if both the workstation and server have Norton
Antivirus running in Auto-Protect mode. In this scenario, each file is being scanned
twice, once at the server and once at the workstation, before being allowed to
open. This delay could result in a
network “time-out” error and lock the program up. Additionally, this redundancy could result in
a perfectly “clean” file being scanned hundreds of times per day.
Suggestions: Given the prevalent number of
computer viruses that exist and their pervasive nature, you simply cannot
afford to run a computer without anti-virus software these days. Norton Antivirus is certainly the most
distinguished and widely used anti-virus package and we feel it is an excellent
application. Please note that the
following suggestions are just that – suggestions, and that Agency Software,
Inc. accepts no responsibility for the
management of your business anti-virus strategies. While the final decision on how to address
your businesses anti-virus concerns ultimately rests on your or your systems
administrator – we offer the following suggestions:
1. Disable
Auto-Protect if you are NOT using Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition: Once a computer
has been scanned for viruses and is proclaimed “clean” – we feel that there is
no reason to keep persistently scanning for viruses. Once a computer
is “clean” the typically only way a virus can invade a system is from an
outside source such as an email, floppy disk, or network connection. Disabling Auto-Protect does not disable
Norton’s ability to scan incoming emails (unless you are using the Corporate
Edition - in which case you should proceed to the second suggestion). If
all of your network computers have been recently scanned and are “clean” then
you won’t get a virus from a network connection. It is our opinion that once a system is clean
– there is no reason to constantly keep looking for viruses. Norton still keeps looking for viruses from
outside sources once Auto-Protect is disabled.
The key here is to keep your anti-virus
software updated and scan on a regular basis such as each night at
You can disable Auto-Protect by
right-clicking on the yellow Norton Antivirus icon on the lower right-hand
corner of your screen and clicking on “Disable Auto Protect”. If you are running over a network – you will
want to disable Auto-Protect at the server as well as the workstations.
2.
Exclude Agency Software Files: If you don’t
feel comfortable totally disabling Auto-Protect, it is possible to disable
Auto-Protect from scanning just files used by Agency Software programs. To do this, start by right-clicking the icon
of your Agency Software product (EasyApps, EasyApps Pro, EzAgent,
or AgencyPro) and clicking on “Properties”.
Find the Target or Command line and write down the location where the
program exists (i.e. “F:\EAPPW”, “F:\EZAGENT” or “C:\APRO”) – then close the
properties dialog.
Next, right click on your Norton Anti-Virus
icon on the lower right hand corner of your desktop and click on “Configure
Norton Antivirus”. Depending on your
version of Norton Antivirus – something like the following screen should
appear:
Click the “Options” button along the top of the screen and something
like the following screen will appear:
Next, click on Auto-Protect option on the top left. The Exclusions option should appear below it.
(Note: there will be an exclusions option under both Auto-protect and Manual
Scan.) Be sure to select the “Auto
Protect” then click “Exclusions” along the upper left hand side of the screen
and you will see:
Click “New” and enter the directory name you wrote down earlier –
(i.e.)
Make sure that “Include Subfolders”
is checked and click OK.
Repeat this process - Adding *.DB; *.PX; *.NET and *.LCK to the exclusions list until it looks like this:
Click OK to finish then close the
dialog. You should repeat this process
at each workstation that accesses the Agency Software products – including
the file server.
3.
Try a different version: If you still don’t feel
comfortable re-configuring Norton you might try a different version. Agencies that had trouble using the 2002
version of Norton Antivirus, for instance, report that they are having fewer
problems with the newer 2003 version.
Also, other anti-virus packages (such as McAfee) exist that aren’t
nearly as obtrusive as Norton Antivirus.
They can be found at www.mcafee.com
We
sincerely hope that you have found this bulletin valuable. Please call us at (800)342-7327 if you
questions, comments or concerns about it’s content.
Sincerely,
The
Agency Staff