Anti-Virus Software you pay for

The two most popular anti-virus programs are sold by Norton and McAfee. They often come preinstalled as a trial version when you buy a new computer. The idea is to get you hooked so you'll renew your subscription. If you don't update with the latest virus definitions your anti-virus program will becomes useless. But renewals are getting expensive and online updates seem to be getting larger and take a long time to download if you're dial-up. One wonders how much of the download is to fix bugs rather than update virus definitions, especially with Norton, because their anti-virus program occasionally causes conflicts with other software. Trying to get technical help from Symantec, the parent company of Norton, is practically impossible.

AVG - A Free Alternative

AVG is the name of a free antivirus program made by Grisoft, a company founded in 1991. Ordinarily anything free is missing something or there's a catch but AVG is an exception. Many NBCUG members use and praise it because it's so user friendly. It doesn't take forever to update and doesn't cost a nickel. How long this will last is anybody's guess. Like most software promotions, they hope to get you to purchase their pro version, but in the meantime get the free version at http://free.grisoft.com/. By the way, if you have an older free version of AVG the new version will replace it and the old version will be uninstalled automatically.

What's good about AVG Anti-virus

AVG updates automatically. It has real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run and it protects your incoming and outgoing e-mail. The On-Demand scanner allows you to perform scheduled and manual tests and has a vault for infected files. But best of all it doesn't seem to interfere with other software you're running and it's free.

Installing AVG Anti-virus

Go to http://free.grisoft.com/ and download the free version of AVG. Setup offers two options, Standard and Custom. The Standard installation is recommended for most users because it secures optimal anti-virus results. Follow setup instructions carefully because if some of your applications are currently open and might conflict with the AVG installation you'll will see the Applications Termination window with a list of applications that must be closed. You can close all the listed applications manually, or the installation program will close them automatically after you click the Next button. Finally you'll be told that installation is complete.

First Run of AVG Anti-virus

After installing AVG, the AVG First Run Wizard pops up to help you with installation settings. Though you can set all of them later it is recommended you take the wizard’s tour to secure your computer’s anti-virus protection in a simple way. Follow the instructions carefully.

The AVG Free Update window will automatically check for and download the latest AVG Free update files. Click the Run update button to download the latest update files. If you are not online at the moment, make sure to run the update as soon as possible. It is very important that you have the latest virus definitions. You'll be notified thereafter when updates are available.

The Create Rescue Disk window will create a set of rescue disks to boot your computer in case a virus makes it impossible. You'll need about 6 blank diskettes. They will take a long time to create so you may wish to do it later. You may also ignore creating rescue disks, which you'll probably never need, but if a virus prevents you from accessing Windows to run AVG, the disks will be invaluable.

The Computer Scan window will offer the Complete Test launch which detects and treats all viruses found. Click the Scan Computer button to start the test but make sure you've downloaded the latest virus definitions first. Once your computer is scanned for viruses it is protected and your AVG anti-virus program is configured properly. Click the Continue button to start using AVG. Next time you want to access the AVG menu click on the icon created on your desktop.