Anti-virus Software Setup
- Last UpdatedApr 08, 2025
- 2 minute read
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SYSTEM PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION The "on access" scan in anti-virus products can lock files used by Plant SCADA, usually having the effect of slowing Plant SCADA down whilst it waits for the scan of that file to finish. Failure to follow these instructions can result in death, serious injury, or equipment damage. |
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INOPERABLE SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA In some extreme cases, anti-virus software may (incorrectly) detect certain patterns within data files as being viruses. Depending on the anti-virus configuration, this may result in files being relocated or deleted, resulting in data being lost or the system being inoperable. Failure to follow these instructions can result in injury or equipment damage. |
It is recommended that the following directories are excluded from scanning by any anti-virus products:
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Program Files installation directory (including files and sub directories)
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Data and Logs directories
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Any alarm server archive paths.
Additionally, some scanners have been found to prevent the deletion of *.tmp files which may impact runtime performance. If you detect this, then also exclude any TMP files (*.tmp) in the following directory:
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%TEMP%\*.tmp
By default, %TEMP% resolves to 'C:\Users\<current user>\AppData\Local\Temp\'.
The above exclusions are recommended for "on access" or "real time" scans that run continuously and scan each file that is read from or written to. Scheduled scans, which are usually daily or once a week, should also have these exclusions added with the exception of the Program Files exclusion.