It's an unfortunate fact of life for those of us who use PCs to surf the Net, download software, and more--viruses are out there. With new viruses appearing on a daily basis, data is under constant attack, and it's essential to get some protection. McAfee has a history of producing top antivirus products. With VirusScan Wireless, the company has created the first PDA virus-scan product, which secures handheld devices running Palm, CE, and Epoc platforms.

The software installs easily on a Windows PC, and the device component of the software installs on the PDA after you synch the handheld with the PC. Once the software is installed, choose your scanning options (this can be done from either the handheld or the PC). You can:

• Scan applications
• Scan application data
• Scan modified records only
• Scan known file types only
• Scan known executable code types only
• Scan flash memory

You can also choose whether to scan at the start of each hotsync, at the end of each hotsync, or both. The device-side component of the package (e.g., the VirusScan icon on a Palm) can easily be removed. If a virus is found, the antivirus alert will notify you. While VirusScan is a good first step towards protecting a handheld from virus threats, it doesn't replace having an antivirus application (such as McAfee VirusScan Deluxe) installed on your PC as well. --Kathleen Keefe

30