Trouble with Virus checkers

[Alec.Cawley]

My product has at is centre a Windows PC whose sole purpose is to run 
MySQL plus my middleware layer. However, it installed on a site with a 
large amount of heterogeneous IT department and an active IT department 
managing the whole corporate IT structure. This IT department insists 
that, if it is a Windows PC with any connection to the corporate network, 
it *must* run a virus checker. However, it appears that the virus checker 
(McAffee, as it happens, but I think the problem may be general) feels a 
need to check the MySQL data files every time they change. As the system 
load is bean ramped up, more and more time is being spent in the virus 
checker.

The quick solution is to tell the virus checker to ignore the whole 
mysql\data directory. This solves the problem, but leaves the IT 
department nervous because something is not being checked. I cannot see 
how a virus could infect via the data directory, but I am no virus expert. 
It is also my view that a machine with no actual humans using it (no 
email, no web), with all unnecessary services disabled and which is behind 
a good firewall should be pretty well protected and should not need a 
virus checker. Am I right in this?

Have other people had this sort of problem, and how did they cope with it? 
To my regret, the reply "switch to *nix" is unacceptable to my management. 


        Alec