SEP 11: virus definition folder takes too much disk space

For those who did not give up trying to deploy Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.

On client computers you might notice that virus definition folder (by default it is located in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\VirusDefs) takes up large amounts of disk space. In my case - more than 5 Gb. When you open VirusDefs folder you can see a lot of temporary folders called tmpXXXX.tmp, where XXXX are hexadecimal characters.

The cause of the problem is that virus definitions may be corrupted.

To solve this issue, follow the steps below:

1. Stop the Symantec Management Client service:

• Start -> Run
• Type "smc –stop" (without qoutes) and click OK

2. Stop the Symantec Endpoint protection Service in services snap-in

3. Go to "Virusdefs" folder. Delete all ".tmp" files and folders AND any numbered folders (such as "20070820.048", "20080115.021" etc.)

4. Install new definitions manually using the Intelligent Updater:

• Follow this link: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/defs.download.html
• Select the language and for the product, select Symantec Endpoint Protection
• Click "Download Updates" button
• Select the correct file to download for Symantec Endpoint Protection 11 depending on whether it is for 32-bit or 64-bit OS
• Click the ".exe" file specified for Symantec Endpoint Protection 11, download to your hard drive and run it

5. Start the Symantec Endpoint Protection Service

6. Start the Symantec Management Client service:

• Start -> Run
• Type "smc –start" (without qoutes) and click OK

Source: http://youradmin.blogspot.com/