VirusScan for UNIX - Arizona State University

1 Introducing VirusScan ® for UNIX
VirusScan ® for UNIX detects and removes viruses on UNIX-based systems. This
section describes:
� Product features
� What’s new in this release
� Using this guide
� Getting product information
� Contact information
Product features
The scanner runs from a command-line prompt, and provides an alternative to scanners
that use a graphical user interface (GUI). Both types of scanner use the same anti-virus
software. The scanner acts as an interface to the powerful scanning engine — the
engine common to all our security products.
Although a few years ago, the UNIX operating system was considered a secure
environment against potentially unwanted software, it is now seeing more occurrences
of software specifically written to attack or exploit security holes in UNIX-based
systems. Increasingly, UNIX-based systems interact with Windows-based computers,
and although viruses written to attack Windows-based systems do not directly attack
UNIX systems, the UNIX system can unknowingly harbor these viruses, ready to infect
any client that connects to it.
When installed on your UNIX systems, VirusScan ® for UNIX becomes an effective
solution against viruses, Trojan-horse programs, and other types of potentially
unwanted software.
The command-line scanner enables you to search for viruses in any directory or file in
your computer on demand — in other words, at any time. The command-line scanner
also features options that can alert you when the scanner detects a virus or that enable
the scanner to take a variety of automatic actions.
When kept up-to-date with the latest virus-definition (DAT) files, the scanner is an
important part of your network security. We recommend that you set up a security
policy for your network, incorporating as many protective measures as possible.
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