Good evening.

I'm getting a red icon for my WHS. In the console it says that my server is not protected. The service "McAfee Total Protection Service for WHS" is down. It's been this way for a couple of days. Any thoughts or suggestions on what I can do to correct this?

Thanks.

Have you restarted the MSS since this happened? Generally I would expect that to resolve problems like this.

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

If restarting the server doesn't help, the suite may need to be reinstalled. Sometimes McAfee software gets fouled up when the software tries to update itself to the latest version and the system is in the process of doing other things.

Hi

Usually this happens after a Restart,
If you get the red icon and/r the message that something with McAffee is wrong you should start a remote desktop connection, have a look to the button bar (on my WHS it is in the right lower corner). There you'll find the icon for McAffee - if you move your mouse over that it will give you a message like "last restart not successfully" or similary (I don't remember this text correct now). Click with the right mouse button -> you get a menu. Click there onto "update" and wait some time.

After that McAffee is okay again and the messags disappear.

Best Regards
Wonko

Hi There,

Here's a thought for you to contimplate... As my WHS also had a red light on regarding McAfee Service...

However, I bet if you use your console or RDP into the server itself you will see that the virus defs are out of date... Additionally, if you try to run an updaet through an RDP connection it will probably announce that your trial has expired, where you will need to follow the directions included in this thread... (Either the 1st post or my post on the second page)

http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3224

Good lucnk and let us know how it goes!!!

HI. I know this post comes months after the original but I only recently bought a Home Server and this very same problem occurred on the third day after I set it upafter a McAfee automatic update). I tried a restart (twice- both restart and turn off) which did not help so I then remoted into the server. I tried to manually update my virus definitions and while I got a message that my virus definitions were up to date, I noticed that my red light had turned to green. However the next time I opened the Home Server Console, I got the same message and the light turned back to red. That was odd. So I checked my Services and found two McAfee services: Total Protection, and Antivirus and Spyware. The Total Protection service was off so I turned it back on. At that point the red light turned back to green and stayed green when I opened the Home Server Console again. So that seemed to fix the problem.

However the Service is set on Automatic and I had rebooted the server twice so you would think it would have turned on after the reboot. But it did not although the Antivirus and Spyware service did turn back on automatically. Given this issue and past issues with McAfee I will NOT be buying this product and will remove it once the trial subscription lapses. Based on the other posts at this forum I will be purchasing Avast instead.

I have posted this elsewhere on this site, but it seems relevant here too:

I had the same problem. Tried uninstalling and reinstalling. Got through live to McAfee yesterday. They said it is an issue they have just discovered due to calls to their support group. Apparently IE8 creates a problem with updating the McAfee DAT definitions file in WHS. I'll guess your problem started after updating your WHS to IE8? McAfee says they are escalating problem to engineering. Since they have just become aware of the problem, she could not give a timeline?

I do NOT believe the problem is IE8. The Total Protection Service installs a firewall and none of the ports on it are open immediately after installation. It is not accessible. And it has nothing to do with IE8.

And if you look at the date of the original post here, clydehill, you will see that it was posted in January -- long before IE8 was even available.

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Even if the IE8 scenario is true... All the more reason why I'm glad i've uninstalled the application... Seems to me they're getting sloppy with the DAT files and such... Case and point the fabulous windows system file deletion case about a month back!

I'll definately go another vendor in the future... As gold service doesn't seem to help or care for customers resolutions in my eyes...

I would have to agree. I have never opened IE on my WHS so unless it came already installed, which I doubt, I don't think IE8 is the problem. I was going to wait until my trial service was up before I bought a replacement, but this has happened again, and this time when I rdp into my server and looked at services, McAfee Total protection was still up. But when I restarted the application, the red "critical" light disappeared. So I don't think I'm going to wait. Plus Avast sent me a coupon for 20% off when I emailed them with a query about their WHS product and it expires in a week so I guess I'll use it.

I've had the same issue occur nearly 2 weeks ago. Woke one morning after months and months of no issues to a red connector icon. Indications were that the update would not operate properly. Made a few calls to McAfee. They did not have the answers and I seemed to know more about what was going on than the tech on the phone. I sent a log file and was called back shortly thereafter. The indication was that this issue was spreading and they were working on a solution. I waited 5 days then uninstalled as the database was getting old and made me nervous about protection. I installed Avast on the WHS and 2 of my client machines. To date I am very impressed with Avast, the way it functions on both the WHS and the clients and like the ability to control the clients from the server. I will forgo the payment already made to McAfee and instead become a customer of Avast.

I have to agree with the McAfee remarks and again confirms my feelings of not owning any future products from them.... Instead I will either go Norton if and when a product is developed and also contimplate a AVAST purchase in the meantime....

You can't tell me that software engineers can't figure this out and thier tech support is way to vast for me to even tolerate anymore!

Don't forget F-Secure, folks. Nice solution for WHS!

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Checked out the F-Secure reco since I am still in trial use of Avast. While everyone has differing needs F-Secure can't hold a candle to Avast for an overall household solution. With Avast you can control many aspects of security related virus protection for all clients from the WHS Avast console add-in. You can not accomplish that with any other product in this price range or category. While that functionality is nice it won't make me feel any better if a virus gets through and compromises my data. That's true for any solution.

And THAT is by far the hardest thing for end-users to evaluate! The only practical way is to run one and then scan with another to see if it picks up anything the first one missed! (Then try it the other way.)

Problem is that at any given point in time they may all miss something.

So how to choose????

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch