Member Avatar for professor123

l have a linux machine with ClearOs and a directory (/home/mcafee) that l have downloaded a mcafee update and l want my windows machine to be able to automatically access that Share and update my Mcafee antivirus, l specified the path for my Mcafee **using ftp or http (e.g //192.168.2.3/home/mcafee) **but to no avail. l tried the UNC but still unable to update my Antivirus how can l do this? Any help would be appreciated!!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rubberman

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The most likely problem here is a mismatch between the protocol/path the McAfee client expects and how the Linux share is exposed. Samba exposes a named share (the name in smb.conf), not the literal filesystem path; HTTP/FTP use URL-style paths. That difference explains why a browser-style path like //192.168.2.3/home/mcafee won’t work for an SMB share.

Correct examples (note the backslashes for SMB and forward slashes for HTTP/FTP):

SMB (UNC):   \\192.168.2.3\mcafee\        # mcafee is the Samba "share name"
HTTP:        http://192.168.2.3/mcafee/
FTP:         ftp://192.168.2.3/mcafee/

If the share name in Samba is [mcafee] and path = /home/mcafee, point the Windows updater at the UNC above. If the McAfee client only accepts HTTP/FTP URLs, publish /home/mcafee with a lightweight web server and use the HTTP URL.

Configuration checklist and quick tests

  • Export a share with a short name (e.g. [mcafee] -> path = /home/mcafee) and make it readable by the Samba account used for updates. A minimal share looks like:
    [mcafee]
 path = /home/mcafee
 read only = yes
 browseable = yes
 guest ok = no   # or yes if you allow anonymous read
  • Add a Samba user (smbpasswd -a), or allow guest access if acceptable.
  • From a Windows client test: \\192.168.2.3\mcafee in Explorer; map it or use Credential Manager to save credentials.
  • From the Linux box test with smbclient -L 192.168.2.3 and run testparm to validate Samba config.
  • Ensure firewall allows SMB (ports 445/139) or HTTP (80) as appropriate and that permissions on /home/mcafee permit the Samba account to read the files.

Automation and security

  • For many Windows PCs, deploy the UNC mapping via Group Policy Preferences or a logon script (net use) so updates can run unattended.
  • Prefer serving updates over HTTP on modern networks (simpler auth, no SMBv1 compatibility issues). Avoid enabling SMBv1 on modern Windows clients for security reasons.
  • If scaling or centralized management is needed, consider the vendor-supported update/mirror method (McAfee’s documented mirroring/update server) rather than ad-hoc shares.

This ties together ’s reported path attempts, the Samba angle raised by , and the mapping idea from while focusing on the path/protocol and permission checks that typically block automatic updates.

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Member Avatar for rch1231

You need to install samba on the linux box. Samba is an application on Linux that allow you to share directories with windows.

Member Avatar for professor123

thanx RCH1231 samba is already installed and working well but the challenges is that of pointing the windows machines to that server and for them to be able to automatically download the update from the Linux box.

Member Avatar for rubberman

The Samba shares should show up in "My Network Places->Entire Network->workgroup". Under workgroup should appear each remote system that is attached to your workgroup (which Samba-enabled Linux systems should be), and under those directories will appear the shared folders that they are providing. If you need to login to access those shares, clicking on them should bring up the appropriate Windows dialog box. You can mount those systme shares as a permanent drive letter if you want. Right-click on the shared folder and select "Map Network Drive...".

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