Help my confusion with trusting/excluding "files" vs. trusting/excluding "programs"

[billwoo]

Is it true that you cannot exclude individual files and folders from being considered threats in scanning? That is, as of the 2015 or 2016 versions of the product? I read ambiguous explanations on the web (probably because the basic structure of McAfee programs changes frequently, grrr); some say that this functionality was removed in recent years. True?

The most confusing aspect of trust vs. quarantine is that the program "seems" to require you to trust the threat - i.e. the "program" - e.g., I have to trust "HTool/kgn". I don't want to trust the VIRUS; just the file that McAfee claims to have that virus (because I believe the file is safe). It is horribly nonintuitive.

Another point of confusion (or maybe the same point!):

Note the ambiguity at this link. I can follow https://digitalendpoint.zendesk.com/…/205143687-How-to-conf…

almost perfectly until the middle of the page says

Click on "Excluded Files".

That button doesn't exist in my product under LiveSafe - Internet Security.

Actually I can't find anything like that. Please tell me it wasn't taken away from having been there on earlier versions?

PRODUCT VERSION:

I hate to bother people but my googling for this answer was dreadful. It seems like all the talk about McAfee tech issues on the web assumes that you're already fluent with the architecture of McAfee. And there are like 10 product names to understand. I believe that I have McAfee LiveSafe collection which shipped with my new Dell. I don't know if I have Home or Professional or Enterprise because those words don't seem to appear anywhere in the product. However web posts and articles say things like "if you have the home edition, ..."

Anyway I can see:

About McAfee LiveSafe

McAfee Security Center 14.0 3/11/16

McAfee Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware 18.0 3/12/16

[exbrit]

You can only trust something if it's identified as a PUP (Possibly Unwanted Program) otherwise you'd have to submit it to McAfee for clearance if you feel it's OK

[billwoo]

I don't want to give clearance to the program. I only want to give clearance to the file. The scan tells me that it found bad "program" (I think) "HTool/kgn" in file "myfile.xyz"  It then says, "do you want to trust (or exclude?) the program?"

If I say yes, it looks like I've said that "HTool/kgn" is okay, when in fact I want scan to keep looking for that problem. I just don't want it to look in myfile.xyz.  I want to trust or exclude the file, not the virus! If I click on the file, it seems to say it will stop checking for that virus! (or whatever malware it is)

[exbrit]

You can't be so specific with the Consumer version of the software.  It scans in a logical manner and you have to deal with each detection on its particular merit.

[billwoo]

So for every myfile.xyz (so far, two files, 3 copies each, total of 6 files), each of which that I know is safe, I will have to watch them be reported as a virus on every scan, forever, unless I say, "ignore that virus."  Really?? I must be misunderstanding. That's such a basic requirement, and to be crippled on home versions?

[exbrit]

It may not be possible to trust every file.  I suggest you forward the entire file for clearance as instructed in that link.

Meanwhile be careful where you are downloading from.

[sanjay]

You may exclude the files from being scanned. Navigate to Virus and Spyware Protection > Scheduled Scans > Excluded Files and Folders > Add file/Add folder.

[Peacekeeper]

It is possible billwoo is asking about Real time scanner it has single file only exclusion.

Just a thought

[billwoo]

Hey, thank you each for adding to the discussion. Actually I'm talking about a scheduled scan, not real time. I wish I could bring it up now but frankly things are really hard to find in McAfee if you're not mentally acclimated to it or using it frequently on the job.

From memory, I believe my scans say "2 problems were found" and show some Latin-sounding word which I assume is the name of a threat/virus. Somehow I figured out how to drill into that and saw the names of the "guilty" files. When I said "allow" or "exclude" or whatever it gave me the chance to do, I said yes, and IIRC it seemed to say great, the Latin word is white listed or such. I only wanted to whitelist the files, not the threat/virus. I believe that I was able to reverse my action, but I can't find my way back there now.

Right now clicking "Security Report" gives

Viruses and other threats removed or quarantined - 2

Potentially malicious income connections blocked - 76850

Potentially unwanted programs removed - 2

but that's as far as I can get - nothing is clickable there. The button "Navigation" doesn't navigate very much. (I'm trying not to be such a pr__k about it. I'm an advanced P.C. programmer and user but McAfee's navigation structure is highly frustrating. I've looked high and low to get to the quarantine area or the exclusion area. Sorry - it's SO frustrating to click sequence after sequence after sequence uselessly. And it drains YOUR time because I'm so impotent with it.)

[exbrit]

Navigation > Quarantined and Trusted Items.   Scroll down.

You'll see 3 areas that can be expanded and the info on detections, name and location should be there.