Robert Wyatt wrote: > Bowie Bailey wrote: >> >> I think there is a bit of confusion here between the "SelfCheck" setting >> in clamd.conf and the "Checks" setting in freshclam.conf. >> >> I do see his point with the man page documentation for clamd.conf: >> >> SelfCheck NUMBER >> Perform a database check. >> Default: 1800 >> >> So what does the number mean? The man page doesn't say. You have to >> read the conf file to get an explanation: >> >> # Perform internal sanity check (database integrity and freshness). >> # Default: 1800 (30 min) >> SelfCheck 1200 >> >> The man page needs to be updated to define the units for the "SelfCheck" >> setting. >> > > > In trying to get freshclam to run automatically, I believe that I > discovered that this database check in clamd.conf actually checks for > updates. While I'm not 100% sure, I think that this setting either > invokes freshclam or it runs an equivalent command. Other users here > should be able to confirm whether I'm on the right track.
No, the database check in clamd.conf only checks the current database. It checks to see if the database has been updated (by freshclam, or otherwise). If there is an updated database, it will check to make sure it is not corrupted and then load it. To update the database, you either need to call freshclam from cron on a regular basis or start freshclam as a daemon and use the "Checks" setting to configure how often it checks for updates. > FWIW, on another machine I did set up (either through cron or > daemonic, not sure which) freshclam to run periodically. My > recollection is that you need to make sure that the database is owned > by the same user that runs this job. In other words, cron or daemonic > runs freshclam as admin, but the database may be owned by clamav--your > log files would indicate if there is a problem updating or accessing > the database. The simpler solution, in my experience, is to have clamd > update the database periodically, because it runs the update as the > "right" user by default. Here again, verification from other users > would be in order, so please chime in if you have better information. No, clamd has no capability to download database updates -- that is freshclam's job. You just need to make sure freshclam runs as the right user so that it has permissions to replace the database when there is an update. This should be fairly straightforward and once you get it right, you can forget about it and just let it run. -- Bowie _______________________________________________ Help us build a comprehensive ClamAV guide: visit http://wiki.clamav.net http://www.clamav.net/support/ml
