No, this is not necessary. Virus & Spy Protection includes Real-time Scanning, which means that your computer is scanned for viruses in real time. You can scan manually for viruses by using Scheduled Scanning. To open the product, double-click the product icon at the bottom right corner of your screen. To start a scheduled scan:

1. Click the Virus & Spy Protection tab.
2. Click Configure next to Scheduled Scanning.
3. Select Enable scheduled scanning.
4. Select which days you would like to regularly scan for viruses and spyware.

5. Choose when you want to start the scan on the selected days.

The F-Secure PC Protection updates itself automatically, and you do not have to do anything. If you are using a modem, the product is automatically updated every time you connect to the Internet. If you have a broadband connection, updates are checked once per hour.

You can also manually check for updates. To open the product, double-click the product icon at the bottom right corner of your screen. To check for updates:

Note: If you are using a modem, or have an ISDN connection to the Internet, the connection must be active to check for updates.

Detailed descriptions are not available for all malware even though the security product detects them. Also many viruses belong to the same family and share the same description. If your security product detects a malware item, for which you cannot find a description, look for a similar name in the virus descriptions list.

To open the product, double-click the product icon at the bottom right corner of your screen. To exclude a file or folder from Real-time Scanning:

1. Click the Virus & Spy Protection tab.
2. Click Configure next to Real-time Scanning.
3. Click Exclusions.
4. Add a file, drive, or folder to exclude:
1. Select the Objects tab.
2. Select Exclude objects (files, folders, ...).
3. Click Add.
4. Select the file, drive, or folder that you want to exclude from virus scanning.

Note: Some drives may be removable drives, such as CD, DVD or network drives. Network drives and empty removable drives cannot be excluded.

5. Click OK.
4. Repeat the previous step to exclude other files, drives, or folders from being scanned for viruses.
5. Click OK to close the Exclude from Scanning dialog.
6. Click OK to apply the new settings.

To open the product, double-click the product icon at the bottom right corner of your screen. To exclude a file from Manual Scanning:

1. Click the Virus & Spy Protection tab.
2. Click Advanced.
3. Click Manual Scanning under Virus & Spy Protection.
4. Click Exclusions.
5. Exclude a file type:
1. Select the File Types tab.
2. Select Exclude files with these extensions.
3. Type a file extension that identifies the type of files that you want to exclude, in the field next to the Add button. To specify files that have no extension, type '.'. You can use the wildcard '?' to represent any single character, or '*' to represent any number of characters. For example, to exclude executable files, type exe in the field.
4. Click Add.
6. Repeat the previous step for any other extension you want to be excluded from being scanned for viruses.
7. Click OK to close the Exclude from Scanning dialog.

System Restore is a feature of Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows ME (Windows ME is not supported by the F-Secure PC Protection). If a virus infects the computer, it is possible that the virus is backed up in the System Restore folder. To scan and clean the System Restore folder, you need to turn it off.

By turning off System Restore, you lose your last system restore point. Unfortunately there is no other way to remove infections from System Restore. If you want to continue using the System Restore feature, it is important to turn it on after removing the infected files.

1. To turn off System Restore in Windows Vista:
1. Close all open programs.
2. Click Start.
3. Select All Programs > Maintenance.
4. Select Maintenance > Backup and Restore Center.
5. Click Create a restore point or change settings. If asked, click Continue.
6. Under Available disks, clear the checkboxes for all drives.
7. Click Apply.
8. When the system asks if you want to turn off System Restore, click Turn System Restore Off.
9. Click OK.
10. Restart your computer.
11. Scan all hard drives and all files for viruses with your F-Secure PC Protection.
2. To turn off System Restore in Windows XP:
1. Close all open programs.
2. Right-click My Computer, and select Properties. The System Properties dialog box opens.
3. Click the System Restore tab.
4. Select the Turn off System Restore on all drives check box.
5. Click Apply.
6. When the system asks if you want to turn off System Restore, click Yes.
7. Click OK.
8. Scan all hard drives and all files for viruses with your F-Secure PC Protection.
3. Once you have scanned and cleaned the files, turn on System Restore in Vista as follows:
1. Close all open programs.
2. Click Start.
3. Select All Programs > Maintenance.
4. Select MaintenaceBackup and Restore Center.
5. Click Create a restore point or change settings. If asked, click Continue.
6. Under Available Disks, select all drives.
7. Click Apply.
8. When the system asks if you want to turn off System Restore, click Turn System Restore Off.
9. Click OK.
4. Once you have scanned and cleaned the files, turn on System Restore in XP as follows:
1. Right-click My Computer, and select Properties. The System Properties dialog box opens.
2. Click the System Restore tab.
3. Clear the Turn off System Restore on all drives check box.