Event ID 40: Symantec Endpoint Protection has determined that the virus definitions are missing on this computer.

Products

• Endpoint Protection

Issue/Introduction

You see an error in the Windows Application Event Viewer with Event ID 40 which indicates that the Symantec Endpoint Protection client installed on the computer is missing virus definitions.

The following error is shown in the Event Viewer:

Log name: Application

Source: Symantec Antivirus

Event ID: 40

Description: Symantec Endpoint Protection has determined that the virus definitions are missing on this computer. This computer will remain unprotected from viruses until virus definitions are downloaded to this computer.

Cause

This message indicates that the Symantec Endpoint Protection client on the computer does not have a valid set of virus definitions.

Resolution

This issue may be resolved by one of the following methods:

1. Wait until the Symantec Endpoint Protection client downloads definitions from its Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager. This may take several minutes.
2. Open the Symantec Endpoint Protection client's GUI and click the LiveUpdate... button. This will download new content from Symantec's public LiveUpdate servers.
3. Download a stand-alone Intelligent Updater package and run it on the affected client(s). This package contains a complete set of virus definitions and can be used to update Symantec Endpoint Protection clients which do not have access to content from another source (e.g., clients which do not connect to a Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager and do not have internet access.) More information can be found in Update Endpoint Protection definitions with Intelligent Updater.