This chapter covers network administration techniques for the installation, updating and operation of Command's F-PROT Professional. These techniques can be combined to support local workstations as well as off-site users.For first time installations, Command's F-PROT Professional can be placed on the server and users can install it to their local hard drive. This can be done either as an interactive installation or as a "silent" installation: the "Installing from the Server" section describes both procedures.
New viruses are always surfacing. To provide system protection against new viruses, Command's F-PROT Professional is updated frequently. To protect your systems, be sure to keep your copy of Command's FPROT Professional updated. Releases are available on our FTP, BBS and WWW sites. There are a number of file formats to choose from for download. We suggest that you try them out and see which suits you best. On our web site, there is a file named Fntcurrent that provides the latest available version of our product. We also have self-extracting and self-executing formats. Plus, we make update files that only contain those files that have changed, so that you do not need to download the entire program.
In addition to providing instructions on how to set up Command's F-PROT Professional for network administration, this chapter also covers some of the additional tools and procedures that are available to the administrator. Those include:
When installing Command's F-PROT Professional for Windows NT, system administrators can use the NETADMIN parameter. Using this command creates an area on the network for workstation users to install from such that individual diskettes are not required for the installation of Command's F-PROT Professional to each workstation. Plus, by using the NETADMIN command, the System Administrator can control some key functions of Command's F-PROT Professional. Some of the functions include (1) preventing a user from turning off real-time protection, (2) restricting users from manually scanning network drives and, (3) disabling users' ability to disinfect viruses.To use this capability, follow these steps:
Network Setup Configuration dialog box
Enter the location on the network where you want to store shared components of Command's F-PROT Professional (so that some components are in a central location). Please use a UNC path. For example:
These files include F-PROT.EXE, the .FPT files (F-PROT Task), Help files, the Readme file, and assorted .DLL's.\\SERVER\SHARED\INSTALL\SHARE
AV Scheduling Service dialog box
Please use an account that meets the following criteria:
- The Username must reflect an existing account.
- The account must have rights to access network drives.
- Scanning requires that the user has Read access. To disinfect, quarantine or delete, the user must have Write access.
- The account should be accessible for all users.
NOTE: If possible, use a password that does not expire. If you change the password for this account, you must also change it in Command's F-PROT Professional (namely, in Preferences|Advanced|Service Account). If your password expires, scheduled scans will be unable to scan network drives.
F-PROT Config dialog box
Options dialog box
In the setup components location that you selected in the above installation process, four batch files were created Those files were CLIENT.BAT, LCLIENT.BAT, SILENT.BAT and LSILENT.BAT. These files can be used to setup workstations so that they can run Command's F-PROT Professional from a network server or directly from the workstation itself. Additionally, the batch files can be used to quickly update your network to the latest version of Command's F-PROT Professional.
CLIENT.BAT and LCLIENT.BAT, when executed, both set up the local workstation so that it can run Command's F-PROT Professional. CLIENT.BAT places the majority of Command's F-PROT Professional program files on a shared network location with only a few critical files residing on the local workstation. LCLIENT.BAT performs much the opposite action: executing it installs ALL of Command's F-PROT Professional program files onto the local workstation. Thus, a workstation that installs Command's F-PROT Professional via CLIENT.BAT would run Command's F-PROT Professional from the network server. On the other hand, a workstation that installs Command's F-PROT Professional via LCLIENT.BAT would run Command's F-PROT Professional directly from the workstation itself. Both CLIENT.BAT and LCLIENT.BAT perform regular installations, allowing user intervention in the installation process.
SILENT.BAT and LSILENT.BAT also set up a local workstation so that it can run Command's F-PROT Professional. Both of those batch files perform silent installations on the workstation. Such installations involve only minimal user intervention. Except for its silent installation ability, SILENT.BAT is functionally identical to CLIENT.BAT in that it places many of Command's F-PROT Professional program files on a shared network location. Likewise, LSILENT.BAT is functionally identical to LCLIENT.BAT in that it places all Command's F-PROT Professional program files on the local workstation.Command's F-PROT Professional File LocationsThe result of using any of the four above-mentioned batch files is that DVP (real-time protection) and CSS AV Scheduler (for scheduled scans) are installed on the local workstation. These components (CSS AVS and other related files) are located in %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\ and similarly, CSS DVP is located in %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS. The table shown below provides an idea of where certain types of Command's F-PROT Professional files are located after using CLIENT.BAT, LCLIENT.BAT, SILENT.BAT or LSILENT.BAT respectively.
| DVP and CSS-AVS Files | Other Command's F-PROT Professional Program Files | |
| CLIENT.BAT SILENT.BAT |
Local machine | Shared network location |
| LCLIENT.BAT LSILENT.BAT |
Local machine | Local machine |
In the table shown above, notice that the DVP and CSS-AVS files always reside on the local machine. However, Command's F-PROT Professional other program files are located either on a shared network location or on the local machine, depending upon which installation batch file was executed.After installation, you can access Command's F-PROT Professional by double-clicking on the blue F in the tray on the right side of the taskbar. Or, if you wish, you can create a permanent shortcut on your desktop to launch the program.
In addition to CLIENT.BAT, LCLIENT.BAT, SILENT.BAT and LSILENT.BAT, there are two additional batch files that you can use to allow end users to install Command's F-PROT Professional from a server to their workstations. NETDISK.BAT and ONEDISK.BAT both provide an "installation" directory on the server.You would choose NETDISK.BAT if you are working from the installation diskette set that you received directly from Command Software Systems. You would choose ONEDISK.BAT if you have downloaded the FNT_XXXC.EXE (where XXX indicates the version) file from our BBS, FTP or web site.
NETDISK.BAT
NETDISK.BAT is supplied on the distribution diskettes and requires the administrator to create a shared F-PROT Professional directory on the server. It is important to realize that NETDISK.BAT is run from the server and it installs the required files from the installation diskettes.
When the batch file finishes, any user with access to the directory you created can run SETUP from Windows. Users could then perform a standard installation on their local drive.NETDISK A:[ENTER]
ONEDISK.BAT
Alternately, ONEDISK.BAT is part of the download version of Command's F-PROT Professional: it is found in the self-extracting file FNT_XXXC.EXE.
After completion, users can run SETUP from Windows to perform a standard installation on their local drive.ONEDISK F:\PUBLIC\F-PROT [ENTER]
One of the more versatile methods of modifying Command's F-PROT Professional is to edit its SETUP.INI file. Changes made in this file will be incorporated into Command's F-PROT Professional installation routine. If you choose to modify SETUP.INI, the edits must takes place prior to installing the program. The file can be edited with any standard ASCII or DOS editor. SETUP.INI is found on Command's F-PROT Professional installation diskettes.The SETUP.INI file is divided into sections. Each section refers to a different functional area of Command's F-PROT Professional. Sections are identified by their name in brackets. For instance, some of the sections found in SETUP.INI include [E-MAIL], [ActiveProtection], and [Networking]. Below each bracketed section name is a description of what that section refers to. In the example shown below, the section name is [FAGENT Scheduled Scan]. Its description is detailed in the two lines immediately below its name:
[F-AGENT Scheduled Scan]
;This section deals with F-AGENT the program responsible for executing
;the scheduled scans.; Copy f-agent scanner files
CopyFile=YES
; Sets f-agent registry settings
ModifyCfg=YES
; This creates an icon
MakeIcon=YES
; Name of folder to place the icon, it is recommended that this icon be
;placed in the startup group. If this option is left blank then the STARTUP
;group that the registry points to will be used.
FolderName=
; The folder location can be PROGRAM or DESKTOP. If DESKTOP the
;folder will NOT be created in the start menu but will be placed on the
;desktop.
FolderLocation=Program
In the [F-AGENT Scheduled Scan] example, you will find several options that can be modified. Lines beginning with a semi-colon (";") simply contain the descriptive text for each section or option: those lines should not be edited. Modifiable options, however, consist of a statement containing an equals sign ("="). For instance, if you don't want an F-AGENT icon to be created upon installation, you would modify the "MakeIcon=YES" option to read "MakeIcon=NO". For your convenience, each option has its description located immediately above it.
As on-going modifications to Command's F-PROT Professional occasionally change the contents of SETUP.INI, we have chosen not to document all the sections and options found with that file. Therefore, to better your understanding of how to modify Command's F-PROT Professional to suit your needs, we suggest that you view and study SETUP.INI in its entirety.
Command's F-PROT Professional can use Microsoft's Systems Management Server (SMS) for deployment to or uninstallation from workstations. A specialized package distribution file (PDF) has been created that performs both of those operations. To use this functionality, you simply need to import that file into SMS.Once FPROTNT.PDF has been imported into SMS, you can select its BATCH job to deploy Command's F-PROT to the workstations of your choice. Likewise, if you want to remove Command's F-PROT, you would choose the file's UNINSTALL choice when creating the SMS job.
FPROTNT.PDF can be found on the Command's F-PROT Professional installation diskettes.
The following files provide options that simplify the administrator's distribution and testing tasks.
After receiving an update of Command's F-PROT Professional electronically, 4DISK.BAT is used to create a set of high-density (1.44Mb) installation diskettes. The syntax is straightforward. Simply type:You will be prompted to insert a formatted, high-density diskette into the drive you have indicated.4DISK A: (OR B:) [ENTER]
There is a self-extracting executable called SE_EICAR.EXE provided on the distribution disk. Within that file is another file called EICAR.COM. The purpose of the EICAR (European Institute for Anti-Virus Research) test file is to provide an industry standard solution to test anti-virus products. The EICAR test file is the result of a cooperative effort between various anti-virus researchers. You may use this file in a variety of ways. For example, by running EICAR.COM, you can safely verify real-time protection is active and demonstrate what happens when a virus is found.