NetShield

The LiveVault Online Backup Service has been tested with NetShield NT, NetShield 2000, and Dr. Solomon's NetShield NT (from McAfee/Network Associates) and LiveVault Online Backup Service is known to run successfully with these products on a computer.

The tested NetShield versions include 4.02, 4.03a, and 4.5. If you are using another version and require assistance, contact Customer Service.

There are additional configuration steps that you need to perform to run NetShield software and LiveVault Online Backup Service on the same Agent computer.

Exclude LiveVault Online Backup Service directories from the anti-virus scan

When configuring NetShield software, you need to exclude the following LiveVault Online Backup Service directories from the virus scanning; otherwise, the computer could hang:

  • Journal files (default is \LiveVault\Journals\)

  • Database files directories, both protected and unprotected (default is \LiveVault\Databases\ containing both subfolders \Protected and \Unprotected)

To identify the LiveVault Online Backup Service directories paths

To identify the full path of the directories to exclude on your computer:

  1. Using REGEDT32.EXE, open the registry key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LiveVault Corporation\LiveVault\2.0

  2. Locate the JournalRoot value (for example, this is usually similar to E:\LiveVault\Journals)

  3. Locate the ProtectedDatasetDirectory value (for example, this is usually similar to E:\LiveVault\Databases\Protected)

  4. Locate the UnprotectedDatasetDirectory value (for example, this is usually similar to E:\LiveVault\Databases\Unprotected)

Exclude the anti-virus temporary files/directories from backup

Anti-virus software products generate temporary files or use temporary directories, for example, to unpack archives such as zipped files. You need to manually exclude these temporary files/directories from LiveVault Online Backup Service backup.

We identified the following NetShield temporary directories to exclude:

  • C:\Program Files\Network Associates\NetShield NT\Temp

  • C:\Program Files\Network Associates\NetShield 2000\Temp

  • C:\Program Files\Network Associates\Dr Solomon's\NetShield NT\Temp

  • C:\Program Files\Network Associates\Dr Solomon's\NetShield 2000\Temp

The temporary directory path is specified in the registry key:

HKLM\Software\McAfee\VirusScan value szVSTempDir

The LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent software version 3.1.2 and later automatically excludes the temporary directory (as specified above). If you are running an earlier Agent version, you must manually create the exclusion.

In the tree view on the Files to Backup tab, you will see the icon for the automatically excluded directory. Parent directories of the automatically excluded directory are marked in MyLiveVault with one of the "partially excluded" icons, either (if a parent directory is selected), or (if a parent directory is not selected).

Check the NetShield vendor documentation for whether the product uses other temporary files and directories.

Exclude additional anti-virus files/directories from backup

You also need to exclude the NetShield 2000 Activity log file from backup. This file can change quite often, creating an extreme amount of backup traffic, yet its contents does not need to be backed up.

LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent version 3.3 and later automatically excludes the Activity log file. If you are running an earlier Agent version, you must manually create this exclusion.

In the tree view on the Files to Backup tab, you will see the icon for the automatically excluded file. Parent directories of the automatically excluded file are marked in MyLiveVault with one of the "partially excluded" icons, either (if a parent directory is selected), or (if a parent directory is not selected).

The log file path is specified in the registry key:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Network Associates\TVD\Shared Components\On Access Scanner\McShield\Configuration value szLogFileName

For example, if the specified path is C:\Program Files\Network Associates\NetShield 2000\NetShield Activity Log.txt (the common path), create the exclusion:

Exclude C:\Program Files\Network Associates\NetShield 2000\NetShield Activity Log.txt

Running NetShield version 4.03a

To run NetShield version 4.03a on a LiveVault Online Backup Service computer, you must run NetShield in scan mode. Running it in on-access mode will cause the computer to hang.

Anti-virus process in LiveVault "suspect process" registry setting

The anti-virus processes mcshield.exe and scan32.exe modifies a file's attributes. When LiveVault Online Backup Service recognizes that the file attributes are changed, it would determine that the file was changed and back up the file changes. This would result in unnecessarily high continuous backup activity which will negatively impact your computer operations.

To prevent this problem, LiveVault Online Backup Service Agent version 3.3.1 and later automatically includes these processes in a LiveVault "suspect process" registry setting that enables the LiveVault Online Backup Service replication technology to identify the files whose attributes are modified by these processes, and thus avoid replicating the files unnecessarily. LiveVault Online Backup Service will continue to identify when the file content has actually changed and back it up appropriately.

If you require assistance, contact Customer Service.

Related Information

Anti-virus Software
Excluding Files from Backup
Automatic and Recommended Backup Exclusions
 
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