McAfee security center takes forever to scan

Discussion in 'Software' started by happycmpr46, Nov 13, 2008.

  1. happycmpr46

    happycmpr46 Private E-2

    I am scanning a friends computer which has mcafee security center installed on it, and it has been scanning for 2 days now, at night though I put it on standby but restart the scan first thing in the morning, I noticed that there are a lot of porno files which where downloaded when a virus was present, is it normal for mcafee to take that long? it seems like its scanninbg a file a minute, it is on 37468 and has found and quarantined 5799 and it still has a long ways to go, is there a way to scan faster? I did seperate the scanns, drive by drive and it seems like most of the spyware is in document and settings so I am doing a seperate scan on that folder only, any suggestions? I would hate to have to start the scan all over again, I also tried to load in AVG but it wont let me, because you cant have to virus programs running on this laptop which is running windows XP.


    cheryl
     
  2. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    Very likely with the amount of malware on that PC that the malware is taking up CPU time causing other applications to go slow like McAfee, depending on what % its upto in the scan I would leave it and allow Mcafee to remove what it finds, then follow the below guide of ours and start a new thread in the malware section of the forum with the attached logs and our malware experts will help you remove what McAfee doesnt.

    That is correct you really cannot run two antivirus applications (while you can in reality, mentioning this as no doubt someone will bring this up, its not advisable due to conflicts in the scanners of the two AVs which will be resident/live scanning, can get weird errors, or a very slow PC due to multiple AVs scanning same files) so only use one at a time, if wanting to install AVG they you would have to remove McAfee first.


    Please follow the instructions in the below link and attach the requested logs when you finish these instructions.


    • If something does not run, write down the info to explain to us later but keep on going.
    • Do not assume that because one step does not work that they all will not.
    Notes:

    1. If you run into problems trying to run theREAD & RUN ME or any of the scans in normal boot mode. You can running steps in safe boot mode but make sure you tell us what you did later when you post logs. See the below if you do not know how to boot in safe mode:
    2. If you have problems downloading on the problem PC, download the tools on another PC and burn to a CD. Then copy them to the problem PC. You will have to skip getting updates if (and only if) your internet connection does not work. Yes you could use a flash drive too but flash drives are writeable and infections can spread to them.


    Once finished please start a new thread in the Malware Forum plus a guide on how to attach the logs HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post
     
  3. happycmpr46

    happycmpr46 Private E-2



    Well I was going to take your advice after the scan completed but when I awoke this morning and opened the desktop it mcafee had an error message(sorry I forgot to write it down) but it is the usual "encountered a problem and had to close" message, I dont want to start the scan all over again, what else can I do? I know most of the mkalware is in document and settings, is there a way just to scan that folder instead of chosing C drive? man am I frustrated right now, or is there a way I can disable mcafee without having to uninstall it, then I can download AVG or something to get rid of the spyware, please help :(


    cheryl
     
  4. LauraR

    LauraR MajorGeeks Super-Duper Administrator Staff Member

    Don't worry about the McAfee scan. As halo, mentioned, you should follow the links in his post and follow all instructions. Those are the approved Major Geeks steps in aiding those with Malware. Other than give you the link again, it's really the only help we can offer you. It is highly effective for cleaning malware. If the machine is that infected, chances are MacAfee would not have been able to clean it all and it just would have reinfected itself.
     

MajorGeeks.Com Menu

Downloads All In One Tweaks \ Android \ Anti-Malware \ Anti-Virus \ Appearance \ Backup \ Browsers \ CD\DVD\Blu-Ray \ Covert Ops \ Drive Utilities \ Drivers \ Graphics \ Internet Tools \ Multimedia \ Networking \ Office Tools \ PC Games \ System Tools \ Mac/Apple/Ipad Downloads

Other News: Top Downloads \ News (Tech) \ Off Base (Other Websites News) \ Way Off Base (Offbeat Stories and Pics)

Social: Facebook \ YouTube \ Twitter \ Tumblr \ Pintrest \ RSS Feeds