OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
Mac Corner
McAfee 8.6 / ePO Upgrade
The Office of Technology Services (OTS) is performing an upgrade to McAfee VirusScan antivirus software on university-owned Macintosh computers. OTS staff will need to visit Macs to install the McAfee 8.6 / ePO upgrade.
Note: this upgrade does not apply to Macs purchased and configured by OTS in April 2009 or after; these Macs already have the McAfee upgrade installed.
1. Why is the upgrade necessary?
McAfee antivirus software is upgraded periodically to meet the standards of new software and operating systems. The McAfee 8.6 upgrade features greater stability and fixes the issue that causes Macs (running OS 10.5 “Leopard”) to crash when shutting down. McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) will also be installed during this upgrade, see FAQ 7 below for details on ePO.
2. How will the upgrade be installed?
OTS staff will need to visit and manually install the upgrade on each university Mac. The installation takes approximately 40 minutes to complete. There are two options available to obtain the McAfee upgrade, see FAQ 3. below.
3. How do I obtain the upgrade?
You can either schedule an upgrade appointment or OTS staff will perform upgrades without appointments in January 2010, see details below.
A. Schedule Upgrade Appointment
We encourage faculty and staff to check the McAfee Upgrade List.pdf; if your name appears on the list, schedule an appointment with OTS staff to perform the upgrade at a time that is convenient during the fall semester. Follow the three steps below to schedule an appointment; you do not have to be present for the installation.
- Call the Faculty Staff Help Center at 410-704-5151, select options 2+2+2 on the menu; or send fill out a web Services Support Request to the Help Center and include the information below in step 2 and 3.
- When staff answer the phone, request, “a software upgrade on a Macintosh computer for McAfee antivirus software.”
- You will also need to provide the Towson Property Tag number attached to your computer.
A service request will be created and a member of the Mac Support Team will contact you to schedule an appointment.
B. Department Upgrade Installation
The Macs that are are not upgraded by the end of 2009 will be upgraded in January 2010. OTS staff will work with department administration to schedule a day during minimester to install upgrades by going room to room until all Macs in the department are upgraded. Staff will leave a field service visit card in each office after completing the upgrade to inform you that staff completed the upgrade.
4. Do I need to be present for the upgrade installation?
No, you do not have to be present for the appointment or when we do the departmental installation. If you are not present, OTS staff will leave a visit card, informing you that the upgrade was installed on your computer and identify the staff member that performed the installation.
5. What is the time frame for this McAfee upgrade project?
The McAfee upgrade is targeted for completion before beginning of the spring 2010 semester.
6. Will this upgrade be performed on smart classrooms and computer labs?
OTS will work with department IT staff to assist them to upgrade Macs in smart classrooms and computer labs.
7. What is McAfee ePO?
McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) enables future McAfee updates to be pushed over the network and installed on computers at pre-scheduled times. After ePO is installed, OTS staff will not need to interrupt faculty and staff work schedules to perform manual McAfee upgrades in future. Mac users will be informed in advance when McAfee upgrades will be installed. ePO also runs on university Windows computers.
8. Can I install McAfee on my personal Mac?
Yes, McAfee software is available free of charge to faculty, staff, and students. McAfee can be downloaded from the OTS Software Downloads site. ePO is not installed on personal computers.
Note: a new version of McAfee is expected to be released in late 2009. When testing has been completed, it will replace the current 8.6 download version.
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