McAfee VirusScan 8.8 Local Client STIG
V001.001R1 2019-01-11       U_McAfee_VirusScan_8-8_Local_Client_V1R1_STIG_SCAP_1-2_Benchmark.xml
The McAfee VirusScan 8.8 Local Client STIG is published as a tool to improve the security of Department of Defense (DoD) information systems. The requirements are derived from the NIST 800-53 and related documents. Comments or proposed revisions to this document should be sent via e-mail to the following address: [email protected]
Vuln Rule Version CCI Severity Title Description
SV-56365r1_rule DTAM001 CCI-001242 HIGH McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to enable on-access scanning at system startup. For Antivirus software to be effective, it must be running at all times, beginning from the point of the system's initial startup. Otherwise, the risk is greater for viruses, trojans, and other malware infecting the system during that startup phase.System Administrator
SV-56367r1_rule DTAM002 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to scan boot sectors. Boot sector viruses will install into the boot sector of a system, ensuring that they will execute when the user boots the system. This risk is mitigated by scanning boot sectors at each startup of the system.System Administrator
SV-56368r1_rule DTAM003 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to scan floppy during shutdown. Computer viruses in the early days of personal computing were almost exclusively passed around by floppy disks. Floppy disks would be used to boot the computer and, if infected, would infect the hard drive files, as well. Although floppy drives have fallen out of use, it is still a good security practice, whenever the antivirus software allows, to enable the scanning software to scan a floppy disk at shutdown.System Administrator
SV-56369r1_rule DTAM004 CCI-001662 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to notify local users when detections occur. An effective awareness program explains proper rules of behavior for use of an organization's IT systems and information. Accordingly, awareness programs should include guidance to users on malware incident prevention, which can help reduce the frequency and severity of malware incidents. Organizations should also make users aware of policies and procedures that apply to malware incident handling, such as how to identify if a host may be infected, how to report a suspected incident, and what users need to do to assist with incident handling Ensuring the antivirus software alerts the users when malware is detected will ensure the user is informed of the incident and be able to more closely relate the incident to action being performed by the user at the time of the detection.System Administrator
SV-56370r1_rule DTAM005 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to prevent users from removing messages from the list. Good incident response analysis includes reviewing all logs and alerts on the system reporting the infection. If users were permitted to remove alerts from the display, incident response forensic analysis would be inhibited.System Administrator
SV-56371r1_rule DTAM009 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to log the scan sessions. Log management is essential to ensuring that computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time. Routine log analysis is beneficial for identifying security incidents, policy violations, fraudulent activity, and operational problems. Logs are also useful when performing auditing and forensic analysis, supporting internal investigations, establishing baselines, and identifying operational trends and long-term problems.System Administrator
SV-56372r1_rule DTAM010 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings log file size must be restricted and be configured to at least 10MB. While logging is imperative to forensic analysis, logs could grow to the point of impacting disk space on the system. In order to avoid the risk of logs growing to the size of impacting the operating system, the log size will be restricted. If the data in the log file exceeds the file size set, the oldest 20 percent of the entries are deleted and new data is appended to the file, so although the file size is restricted, it must also be large enough to retain forensic value. System AdministratorECSC-1
SV-56373r1_rule DTAM012 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to log the session summary. Log management is essential to ensuring computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time. Routine log analysis is beneficial for identifying security incidents, policy violations, fraudulent activity, and operational problems. Logs are also useful when performing auditing and forensic analysis, supporting internal investigations, establishing baselines, and identifying operational trends and long-term problems.System Administrator
SV-56374r1_rule DTAM013 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to log any failure to scan encrypted files. Log management is essential to ensuring computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time. Routine log analysis is beneficial for identifying security incidents, policy violations, fraudulent activity, and operational problems. Logs are also useful when performing auditing and forensic analysis, supporting internal investigations, establishing baselines, and identifying operational trends and long-term problems.System Administrator
SV-56375r2_rule DTAM016 CCI-001247 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan must be configured to receive DAT and Engine updates. Antivirus signature files are updated almost daily by antivirus software vendors. These files are made available to antivirus clients as they are published. Keeping virus signature files as current as possible is vital to the security of any system. The antivirus software product must be configured to receive those updates automatically in order to afford the expected protection.System Administrator
SV-56376r2_rule DTAM021 CCI-001170 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties must be configured to enable on-delivery email scanning. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc., from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.System Administrator
SV-56386r2_rule DTAM022 CCI-001662 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Delivery Email Scanner must be configured to find unknown program threats and trojans. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc., from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.System Administrator
SV-56387r2_rule DTAM023 CCI-001662 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties must be configured to find unknown macro threats. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc. from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.System Administrator
SV-56389r2_rule DTAM027 CCI-001170 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties must be configured to decode MIME encoded files. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc. from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.System Administrator
SV-56390r2_rule DTAM028 CCI-001170 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties must be configured to scan email message body. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc. from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.System Administrator
SV-56391r2_rule DTAM029 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties, When a threat is found, must be configured to clean attachments as the first action. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc., from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.System Administrator
SV-56392r2_rule DTAM035 CCI-000130 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties must be configured to record scanning activity in a log file. Log management is essential to ensuring that computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time. Routine log analysis is beneficial for identifying security incidents, policy violations, fraudulent activity, and operational problems. Logs are also useful when performing auditing and forensic analysis, supporting internal investigations, establishing baselines, and identifying operational trends and long-term problems.System Administrator
SV-56393r2_rule DTAM036 CCI-000140 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Delivery Email Scanner log file size must be restricted and be configured to be at least 10MB. While logging is imperative to forensic analysis, logs could grow to the point of impacting disk space on the system. In order to avoid the risk of logs growing to the size of impacting the operating system, the log size will be restricted. If the data in the log file exceeds the file size set, the oldest 20 percent of the entries are deleted and new data is appended to the file so although the file size is restricted, it must also be large enough to retain forensic value.System Administrator
SV-56396r2_rule DTAM045 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to scan all fixed, or local, disks and running processes. Antivirus software is the mostly commonly used technical control for malware threat mitigation. Antivirus software on hosts should be configured to scan all hard drives regularly to identify any file system infections and to scan any removable media, if applicable, before media is inserted into the system. Not scheduling a regular scan of the hard drives of a system and/or not configuring the scan to scan all files and running processes, introduces a higher risk of threats going undetected.System Administrator
SV-56397r1_rule DTAM046 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to scan all subfolders. Antivirus software is the mostly commonly used technical control for malware threat mitigation. Antivirus software on hosts should be configured to scan all hard drives and folders regularly to identify any file system infections and to scan any removable media, if applicable, before media is inserted into the system. Not scheduling a regular scan of the hard drives of a system and/or not configuring the scan to scan all files and running processes, introduces a higher risk of threats going undetected.System Administrator
SV-56398r1_rule DTAM047 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to scan boot sectors. Boot sector viruses will install into the boot sector of a system, ensuring that they will execute when the user boots the system. This risk is mitigated by scanning boot sectors at each startup of the system.System Administrator
SV-56399r1_rule DTAM048 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to scan all files. When scanning for malware, excluding specific file types will increase the risk of a malware-infected file going undetected. By configuring antivirus software to scan all file types, the scanner has a higher success rate at detecting and eradicating malware. System Administrator
SV-56401r2_rule DTAM050 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured so there are no exclusions from the scan unless exclusions have been documented with, and approved by, the ISSO/ISSM/DAA. When scanning for malware, excluding specific files will increase the risk of a malware-infected file going undetected. By configuring antivirus software without any exclusions, the scanner has a higher success rate at detecting and eradicating malware.System Administrator
SV-56403r2_rule DTAM052 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to scan inside archives. Malware is often packaged within an archive. In addition, archives might have other archives within. Not scanning archive files introduces the risk of infected files being introduced into the environment. System Administrator
SV-56404r1_rule DTAM053 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to decode MIME encoded files. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) encoded files can be crafted to hide a malicious payload. When the MIME encoded file is presented to software that decodes the MIME encoded files, such as an email client, the malware is released. Scanning these files as part of the regularly scheduled scans tasks will mitigate this risk.System Administrator
SV-56419r1_rule DTAM054 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to find unknown program threats. Due to the ability of malware to mutate after infection, standard antivirus signatures may not be able to catch new strains or variants of the malware. Typically, these strains and variants will share unique characteristics with others in their virus family. By using a generic signature to detect the shared characteristics, using wildcards where differences lie, the generic signature can detect viruses even if they are padded with extra, meaningless code. This method of detection is Heuristic detection.System Administrator
SV-56409r1_rule DTAM055 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to find unknown macro threats. Interpreted viruses are executed by an application. Within this subcategory, macro viruses take advantage of the capabilities of applications' macro programming language to infect application documents and document templates, while scripting viruses infect scripts that are understood by scripting languages processed by services on the OS. Many attackers use toolkits containing several different types of utilities and scripts that can be used to probe and attack hosts. The scanning for unknown macro viruses will mitigate zero day attacks.System Administrator
SV-56420r1_rule DTAM056 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan actions, When a threat is found must be configured to clean files automatically as first action. Malware may have infected a file that is necessary to the user. By configuring the antivirus software to first attempt cleaning the infected file, availability to the file is not sacrificed. If a cleaning attempt is not successful, however, deleting the file is the only safe option so as to ensure the malware is not introduced onto the system or network.System Administrator
SV-56414r1_rule DTAM057 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan actions, When a threat is found must be configured to delete files automatically if first action fails. Malware may have infected a file that is necessary to the user. By configuring the antivirus software to first attempt cleaning the infected file, availability to the file is not sacrificed. If a cleaning attempt is not successful, however, deleting the file is the only safe option so as to ensure the malware is not introduced onto the system or network.System Administrator
SV-56422r1_rule DTAM059 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to record scanning activity in a log file. Log management is essential to ensuring computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time. Routine log analysis is beneficial for identifying security incidents, policy violations, fraudulent activity, and operational problems. Logs are also useful when performing auditing and forensic analysis, supporting internal investigations, establishing baselines, and identifying operational trends and long-term problems.System Administrator
SV-56425r1_rule DTAM060 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan log file size must be restricted, but be configured to at least 10MB. While logging is imperative to forensic analysis, logs could grow to the point of impacting disk space on the system. In order to avoid the risk of logs growing to the size of impacting the operating system, the log size will be restricted, but must also be large enough to retain forensic value. .System Administrator
SV-56423r1_rule DTAM063 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to log any failure to scan encrypted files. Log management is essential to ensuring that computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time. Routine log analysis is beneficial for identifying security incidents, policy violations, fraudulent activity, and operational problems. Logs are also useful when performing auditing and forensic analysis, supporting internal investigations, establishing baselines, and identifying operational trends and long-term problems.System Administrator
SV-56426r1_rule DTAM070 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be scheduled to be executed at least on a weekly basis. Antivirus software is the mostly commonly used technical control for malware threat mitigation. Antivirus software on hosts should be configured to scan all hard drives regularly to identify any file system infections and to scan any removable media, if applicable, before media is inserted into the system. Not scheduling a regular scan of the hard drives of a system and/or not configuring the scan to scan all files and running processes, introduces a higher risk of threats going undetected.System Administrator
SV-56400r1_rule DTAM090 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to enable scanning of scripts. Interpreted viruses are executed by an application. Within this subcategory, macro viruses take advantage of the capabilities of applications' macro programming language to infect application documents and document templates, while scripting viruses infect scripts that are understood by scripting languages processed by services on the OS. Many attackers use toolkits containing several different types of utilities and script that can be used to probe and attack hosts. (NIST SP 800-83) The scanning of scripts is crucial in preventing these attacks.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56402r1_rule DTAM091 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to block the connection when a threatened file is detected in a shared folder. Containment during a virus outbreak is crucial. Infected hosts may attempt to spread malware and will use every network path available to them when spreading that infection. By containing the system when a detection is found, the malware will be restricted to that one system. Likewise, if malware is detected in a shared folder, maintaining the connection between a system and the shared folder would allow the malware to spread. Placing temporary restrictions on network connectivity is an effective mitigation mechanism. These block connection settings will most often be used on a server housing shared folders and files, and will block the connection from any network user on a remote computer who attempts to read from, or write to, a threatened file in the shared folder. In addition, it will block the connection from any user on a remote computer who attempts to write an unwanted program to the computer. The connection will be unblocked after the specified amount of time, re-allowing access to the other shared files and folders, but will be re-blocked should those same file accesses be attempted.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56406r1_rule DTAM092 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to unblock connections after a minimum of 30 minutes. Containment during a virus outbreak is crucial. Infected hosts may attempt to spread malware and will use every network path available to them when spreading that infection. By containing the system when a detection is found, the malware will be restricted to that one system. Likewise, if malware is detected in a shared folder, maintaining the connection between a system and the shared folder would allow the malware to spread. Placing temporary restrictions on network connectivity is an effective mitigation mechanism. These block connection settings will most often be used on a server housing shared folders and files, and will block the connection from any network user on a remote computer who attempts to read from, or write to, a threatened file in the shared folder. In addition, it will block the connection from any user on a remote computer who attempts to write an unwanted program to the computer. The connection will be unblocked after the specified amount of time, re-allowing access to the other shared files and folders, but will be re-blocked should those same file accesses be attempted.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56408r1_rule DTAM093 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to block the connection when a file with a potentially unwanted program is detected in a shared folder. Containment during a virus outbreak is crucial. Infected hosts may attempt to spread malware and will use every network path available to them when spreading that infection. By containing the system when a detection is found, the malware will be restricted to that one system. Likewise, if malware is detected in a shared folder, maintaining the connection between a system and the shared folder would allow the malware to spread. Placing temporary restrictions on network connectivity is an effective mitigation mechanism. These block connection settings will most often be used on a server housing shared folders and files, and will block the connection from any network user on a remote computer who attempts to read from, or write to, a threatened file in the shared folder. In addition, it will block the connection from any user on a remote computer who attempts to write an unwanted program to the computer. The connection will be unblocked after the specified amount of time, re-allowing access to the other shared files and folders, but will be re-blocked should those same file accesses be attempted.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56410r1_rule DTAM100 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to use only one scanning policy for all processes, unless the use of Low-Risk Processes/High-Risk Processes has been documented with, and approved by, the IAO/IAM. Organizations should use centrally managed antivirus software that is controlled and monitored regularly by antivirus administrators, who are also typically responsible for acquiring, testing, approving, and delivering antivirus signatures and software updates through the organizations. (FISMA SP 800-83) Some processes are known to be higher risk, while others are low risk. By restricting policy configuration to the Default Processes policy, all processes will be interpreted equally when applying the policy settings and will provide the highest level of protection. Best practice dictates configuring Low Risk and/or High Risk policies only when it is necessary to improve system performance, and will focus the scanning where it is most likely to detect malware. There is risk associated with configuring the Low Risk and/or High Risk policies for the purpose of specifically excluding processes from scanning, and should only be done after evaluating other policy settings and determining risk.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56413r1_rule DTAM101 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to scan when writing to disk. Antivirus software is the most commonly used technical control for malware threat mitigation. Real-time scanning of files as they are written to disk is a crucial first line of defense from malware attacks.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56429r1_rule DTAM102 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to scan when reading from disk. Antivirus software is the most commonly used technical control for malware threat mitigation. Real-time scanning of files as they are read from disk is a crucial first line of defense from malware attacks.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56430r1_rule DTAM103 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to scan all files. When scanning for malware, excluding specific file types will increase the risk of a malware-infected file going undetected. By configuring antivirus software to scan all file types, the scanner has a higher success rate at detecting and eradicating malware.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56431r1_rule DTAM104 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to find unknown unwanted programs and trojans. Due to the ability of malware to mutate after infection, standard antivirus signatures may not be able to catch new strains or variants of the malware. Typically, these strains and variants will share unique characteristics with others in their virus family. By using a generic signature to detect the shared characteristics, using wildcards where differences lie, the generic signature can detect viruses even if they are padded with extra, meaningless code. This method of detection is Heuristic detection.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56432r1_rule DTAM105 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to find unknown macro viruses. Due to the ability of malware to mutate after infection, standard antivirus signatures may not be able to catch new strains or variants of the malware. Typically, these strains and variants will share unique characteristics with others in their virus family. By using a generic signature to detect the shared characteristics, using wildcards where differences lie, the generic signature can detect viruses even if they are padded with extra, meaningless code. This method of detection is Heuristic detection.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56433r3_rule DTAM106 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to scan inside archive files. Malware is often packaged within an archive. In addition, archives might have other archives within. Not scanning archive files introduces the risk of infected files being introduced into the environment.Information Assurance Officer
SV-56427r1_rule DTAM110 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings actions, When a threat is found must be configured to clean files automatically as first action. Malware may have infected a file that is necessary to the user. By configuring the antivirus software to first attempt cleaning the infected file, availability to the file is not sacrificed. If a cleaning attempt is not successful, however, deleting the file is the only safe option to ensure the malware is not introduced onto the system or network.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56428r1_rule DTAM111 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings actions, When a threat is found must be configured to delete files automatically if first action fails. Malware may have infected a file that is necessary to the user. By configuring the antivirus software to first attempt cleaning the infected file, availability to the file is not sacrificed. If a cleaning attempt is not successful, however, deleting the file is the only safe option to ensure the malware is not introduced onto the system or network. System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56394r2_rule DTAM039 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties must be configured to clean attachments as the first action for When an unwanted program is found. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc., from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56416r1_rule DTAM058 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to detect for unwanted programs. Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) include Spyware, Adware, Remote Administration Tools, Dialers, Password Crackers, Jokes, and Key Loggers. While PUPs do not typically have any infections capability on their own, they rely on malware or other attach mechanisms to be installed onto target hosts, after which they will collect and transfer data from the host to an external host and/or will be used as attach mechanisms. Configuring the antivirus software to attempt to clean the file first will allow for the possibility of a false positive. In most cases, however, the secondary action of delete will be used, mitigating the risk of the PUPs being installed and used maliciously.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56415r1_rule DTAM135 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan Unwanted Programs Policy must be configured to detect spyware. Spyware is software that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge, and that may send such information to another entity without the consumer's consent, or that asserts control over a computer without the user's knowledge. Spyware may try to deceive users by bundling itself with desirable software. A spyware infestation can create significant unwanted CPU activity, disk usage, and network traffic. Some types of spyware disable software firewalls and antivirus software. Detecting, blocking, and eradicating malicious spyware or preventing it from being installed will alleviate the negative side effects of the spyware.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56411r1_rule DTAM136 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan Unwanted Programs Policy must be configured to detect adware. Adware, like spyware, is, at best, an annoyance by presenting unwanted advertisements to the user of a computer, sometimes in the form of a popup. At worst, it redirects the user to malicious websites. Detecting and blocking will mitigate the likelihood of users being tricked into visiting sites with malicious content.System AdministratorInformation Assurance Officer
SV-56366r2_rule DTAG008 CCI-001240 HIGH The antivirus signature file age must not exceed 7 days. Antivirus signature files are updated almost daily by antivirus software vendors. These files are made available to antivirus clients as they are published. Keeping virus signature files as current as possible is vital to the security of any system. System Administrator
SV-56405r1_rule DTAM137 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings Artemis Heuristic network check for suspicious files must be enabled and set to sensitivity level Medium or higher. Antivirus software vendors use collective intelligence from sensors and cross-vector intelligence from web, email, and network threats to compile scores that reflect the likelihood of whether a file in question is malware. The collective intelligence is constantly being updated, more frequently than the typical daily antivirus signature files. With File Reputation lookup, a more real-time response to potential malicious code is realized than with the local-running antivirus software, since by querying the cloud-based database when a file appears to be suspicious, up-to-the-minute intelligence is provided. This type of protection reduces the threat protection time period from days to milliseconds, increases malware detection rates, and reduces downtime and remediation costs associated with malware attacks. Using File Reputation lookup is mandated by US CYBERCOM on DoD systems.System Administrator
SV-55227r2_rule DTAM162 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties, when a threat is found, must be configured to delete attachments if the first action fails. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc. from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.
SV-55229r2_rule DTAM163 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On Delivery Email Scanner Properties must be configured to delete attachments if the first action fails for when an unwanted attachment is found. Email has become one of the most frequently used methods of spreading malware, through embedded HTML code and attachments. User awareness and training, warning users to not open suspicious emails or email attachments and not clicking on hyperlinks, etc. from unknown or known senders, will not fully protect from email-borne malware. Mass mailing worms are similar to an email-borne virus but is self-contained rather than infecting an existing file. Protecting from email-borne viruses and mass mailing worms by scanning email upon delivery mitigates the risk of infection via email.
SV-55277r2_rule DTAM138 CCI-001242 HIGH McAfee VirusScan Access Protection Rules must be configured to prevent McAfee services from being stopped. When the "Prevent McAfee services from being stopped" check box is selected under Access Protection, VSE will prevent anyone except the System account from terminating McAfee services. This protects VirusScan from being disabled by malicious programs that seek to circumvent virus protection programs by terminating their services.
SV-55278r2_rule DTAM139 CCI-000130 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan Access Protection Reports settings must be configured to record scanning activity in a log file. Log management is essential to ensuring computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time. Routine log analysis is beneficial for identifying security incidents, policy violations, fraudulent activity, and operational problems. Logs are also useful when performing auditing and forensic analysis, supporting internal investigations, establishing baselines, and identifying operational trends and long-term problems.
SV-55279r2_rule DTAM140 CCI-000140 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan Access Protection Reports log file size must be restricted and be configured to at least 10MB. While logging is imperative to forensic analysis, logs could grow to the point of impacting disk space on the system. In order to avoid the risk of logs growing to the size of impacting the operating system, the log size will be restricted, but must also be large enough to retain forensic value.
SV-55291r2_rule DTAM152 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner General Settings must be configured to not exclude any script processes from being scanned unless the process exclusions have been documented with, and approved by, the ISSO/ISSM/DAA. Many attackers use toolkits containing several different types of utilities and scripts that can be used to probe and attack hosts. All scripts should be scanned and none should be excluded from scanning.
SV-55292r3_rule DTAM153 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to not exclude any files from being scanned unless exclusions have been documented with, but also be approved by the ISSO/ISSM/AO. When scanning for malware, excluding specific files will increase the risk of a malware-infected file going undetected. By configuring antivirus software without any exclusions, the scanner has a higher success rate at detecting and eradicating malware.
SV-55293r1_rule DTAM154 CCI-001241 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan must be configured to scan memory for rootkits. A rootkit is a stealthy type of software, usually malicious, and is designed to mask the existence of processes or programs from normal methods of detection. Rootkits will often enable continued privileged access to a computer. Scanning and handling detection of rootkits will mitigate the likelihood of rootkits being installed and used maliciously on the system.
SV-55294r1_rule DTAM155 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan actions, When an unwanted program is found must be configured to clean files automatically as first action. Malware may have infected a file that is necessary to the user. By configuring the antivirus software to first attempt cleaning the infected file, availability to the file is not sacrificed. If a cleaning attempt is not successful, however, deleting the file is the only safe option to ensure the malware is not introduced onto the system or network.
SV-55295r1_rule DTAM164 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Demand scan actions, When an unwanted program is found must be configured to delete files automatically if first action fails. Malware may have infected a file that is necessary to the user. By configuring the antivirus software to first attempt cleaning the infected file, availability to the file is not sacrificed. If a cleaning attempt is not successful, however, deleting the file is the only safe option to ensure the malware is not introduced onto the system or network.
SV-55297r2_rule DTAM157 CCI-000366 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Delivery Email Scanner Artemis sensitivity level must be configured to Medium or higher. Antivirus software vendors use collective intelligence from sensors and cross-vector intelligence from web, email, and network threats to compile scores that reflect the likelihood of whether a file in question is malware. The collective intelligence is constantly being updated, more frequently than the typical daily antivirus signature files. With File Reputation lookup, a more real-time response to potential malicious code is realized than with the local-running antivirus software, since by querying the cloud-based database when a file appears to be suspicious, up-to-the-minute intelligence is provided. This type of protection reduces the threat protection time period from days to milliseconds, increases malware detection rates, and reduces downtime and remediation costs associated with malware attacks. Using File Reputation lookup is mandated by US CYBERCOM on DoD systems.
SV-55299r3_rule DTAM159 CCI-000130 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Delivery Email Scanner must be configured to log session summary and failure to scan encrypted files. Log management is essential to ensuring that computer security records are stored in sufficient detail for an appropriate period of time. Routine log analysis is beneficial for identifying security incidents, policy violations, fraudulent activity, and operational problems. Logs are also useful when performing auditing and forensic analysis, supporting internal investigations, establishing baselines, and identifying operational trends and long-term problems.
SV-55300r2_rule DTAM160 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to not exclude any script URLs from being scanned unless the URL exclusions have been documented with, and approved by the ISSO/ISSM/DAA. Many attackers use toolkits containing several different types of utilities and scripts that can be used to probe and attack hosts. All scripts should be scanned and none should be excluded from scanning.
SV-55301r3_rule DTAM161 CCI-001243 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan Access Protection Properties must be configured to enable access protection. Access Protection prevents unwanted changes to a computer by restricting access to specified ports, files and folders, shares, and registry keys and values. It prevents users from stopping McAfee processes and services, which are critical before and during outbreaks. Access Protection for VSE uses predefined and user-defined rules to strengthen systems against virus attacks. For instance, rules are used to specify which items can and cannot be accessed. Each rule can be configured to block and/or report access violations when they occur, and rules can also be disabled.
SV-55302r1_rule DTAM165 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings must be configured to detect unwanted programs. Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) include Spyware, Adware, Remote Administration Tools, Dialers, Password Crackers, Jokes, and Key Loggers. While PUPs do not typically have any infections capability on their own, they rely on malware or other attach mechanisms to be installed onto target hosts, after which they will collect and transfer data from the host to an external host and/or will be used as attach mechanisms. Configuring the antivirus software to attempt to clean the file first will allow for the possibility of a false positive. In most cases, however, the secondary action of delete will be used, mitigating the risk of the PUPs being installed and used maliciously.
SV-55303r1_rule DTAM166 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings actions, When an unwanted program is found must be configured to clean files automatically as first action. Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) include Spyware, Adware, Remote Administration Tools, Dialers, Password Crackers, Jokes, and Key Loggers. While PUPs do not typically have any infections capability on their own, they rely on malware or other attach mechanisms to be installed onto target hosts, after which they will collect and transfer data from the host to an external host and/or will be used as attach mechanisms. Configuring the antivirus software to attempt to clean the file first will allow for the possibility of a false positive. In most cases, however, the secondary action of delete will be used, mitigating the risk of the PUPs being installed and used maliciously.
SV-55304r1_rule DTAM167 CCI-001242 MEDIUM McAfee VirusScan On-Access Scanner All Processes settings actions, When an unwanted program is found must be configured to delete files automatically if first action fails. Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) include Spyware, Adware, Remote Administration Tools, Dialers, Password Crackers, Jokes, and Key Loggers. While PUPs do not typically have any infections capability on their own, they rely on malware or other attach mechanisms to be installed onto target hosts, after which they will collect and transfer data from the host to an external host and/or will be used as attach mechanisms. Configuring the antivirus software to attempt to clean the file first will allow for the possibility of a false positive. In most cases, however, the secondary action of delete will be used, mitigating the risk of the PUPs being installed and used maliciously.