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.