SoftGrid: Sequencing best practices and anti-virus software
Should I run anti-virus software when I sequence applications or should I not? That's a question we hear all the time. And no wonder, since we mention in our sequencing best practices that our recommendation is to disable all anti-virus and malware detection software on the sequencer workstation during the sequencing process. Sound strange? Not really, as this is done to speed the sequencing process and to prevent the anti-virus and anti-malware software components from being detected during sequencing and being included in the virtual application package.
So to answer the question, while we do recommend that all anti-virus software be disabled during sequencing, once the sequencing process is complete it's perfectly fine to re-enable the anti-virus and anti-malware software on the sequencing workstation and scan/disinfect the disk partitions (e.g., C: and Q:) before saving, thus ensuring a clean package.
Of course this doesn't mean you can ignore your regular, common sense security measures already in place but hopefully this will provide a little more clarity to the issue of A/V software and sequencing.
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
