Thank you, Paul

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Dear Paul,

Yes, you will need to uninstall the Mcafee antivirus before you install the new AVG program. All you will need to do is go to your control panel and use the “Uninstall a Program” function.

As far as which AVG program you should use, I am currently using the newest, AVG Internet Security 2011, and it is keeping my computer protected even though I often connect infected computers to it so I can recover data for my customers. I chose to use the full Internet Security suite because there are so many different types of malware out there these days, and not all of them are viruses. You need a full featured program to protect you from all of these threats.

If you have an older computer (5 years old or more) with less than 1Gig of RAM, be sure to try the trial version first, since it can sometimes slow down older hardware.

Elizabeth

Thanks! Liew

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Dear Liew,

Antivirus (and antimalware) programs use a signature to identify a virus on your computer. Usually the signature consists of a file name or contents of a file that is unique to that virus or malware. New viruses and malicious programs are released every day, and any good security program will downloaded updated signatures on a daily basis.

To keep your Anti-Malware program protecting you from all the newest dangers online, it is best to download and install those updates whenever they are available.

Elizabeth

Thanks! Sue

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Dear Sue,

I have heard of Kaspersky, but I have not used it so I can’t really tell you much about it. I have heard some good recommendations for Kaspersky though.

There are still a couple of free antivirus programs, but, I would think twice before I depended on only free antivirus programs to protect my computer. I am currently using AVG Internet Security 2011 on my computers, and it continues to keep me protected from all kinds of malware.

You can purchase a decent internet security program for about $50. If you compare this to the cost of getting infected with one of the common malware programs out there. You could lose the use of your computer while it is getting fixed, the cost of removing the malware could be a hundred dollars or more, and you might lose your data (documents, pictures, music, etc.) in the process. Purchasing a good Internet Security program is far less expensive than getting infected.

AVG does have a free version at www.free.avg.com . It protects against viruses, but not everything that the paid versions protect you from.

Good luck with your new netbook

Elizabeth

Thanks, Tracey

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Dear Tracey,

You have asked a great question! The first thing you want to do is prevent viruses, it is far easier to prevent viruses in the first place than it is to get rid of one after it has infected your system.

I have worked on thousands of computers over the past 14 years, and I have seen a lot of computers infected with viruses. Some of them were not running any antivirus programs when they got infected, but most of them did have an antivirus program installed.

The most common reason that computers get infected even though they have an antivirus program running, is that the antivirus program is no longer being updated. Many computers come with a limited trial version of some antivirus program, and when the 30 or 60 days run out, the computer owner does not either purchase a subscription with that antivirus program, or remove that program and install another one.

Another way your computer can get infected, is if you are running two antivirus programs at the same time. Unfortunately, one antivirus will work against the other one and this leaves holes in your protection that viruses can get right through.

Whenever you are installing a new antivirus program on your computer, make sure you have uninstalled the old program first.

A couple of years ago, there were free antivirus programs available that did an excellent job of keeping your computer protected. I personally used the free version of AVG antivirus and it worked great. These days, however, there are so many malicious programs out there, many of them technically not viruses, that you need a program that provides protection against not only viruses, but also malware like the many fake antivirus programs that try to get into your computer, and trick you into giving them your credit card number.

Right now, I am using AVG Internet Security 2011. This program is doing a great job of protecting my computers, and it is also protecting many of my customers as well. AVG automatically downloads new updates every day, and scans my computer several times a week.

Once you have been infected with a virus, you need to get it off your system as soon as you can. The first thing you can try, is to update your antivirus software and run a full scan. You might be able to restore your computer to an earlier time, but you will still need to scan for and get rid of the infected files. If you are not able to get the virus out yourself, be sure to call your local computer repair shop to get it out of your system as soon as possible. And NEVER give your credit card information online to get rid of viruses. There are too many fake antivirus programs out there just waiting for you to give them your credit card.

I hope this helps you to keep your computer clean and running smoothly.

Elizabeth

Thanks for any help you can give me, Teri in Michigan

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Dear Teri,

When your antivirus program finds files that have been infected with a virus, it moves it into a special location that has been named the vault.

When a file is put in the vault, it is disabled so that the virus can’t harm your computer, but the file is still available just in case your computer has problems running without the file.

Note: Some viruses replace critical Windows files with their own infected versions, and if you remove the infected file, Windows won’t be able to run.

If you put an infected file in the vault, and your computer needs that file to run, you can usually restore the file to its original location and use the computer while you figure out another way to recover from the virus.

Now that we have a little bit of background on why the virus vault exists, I can give you an answer to your question.

If the files have been in the virus vault for at least a few days, and your computer has been running fine without them, go ahead and delete the files that are in there.

Deleting the files that are in the vault, and empting the virus vault are the same thing.

I hope this helps, Elizabeth

Thanks, Don

Dear Don,

The free version of AVG software has always been available at www.free.avg.com and I do sometimes install it for my clients. In the past 6 months, however, there have been so many malicious programs on the internet that are not viruses, but will quickly disable a computer, that I can no longer tell my clients that they will be safe with just the free antivirus. I always advise that they visit my website at www.asktcl.com and click on the link for AVG and purchase the full internet security suite. It is what I am currently using to protect my computers.

In addition to the AVG security, I like to set my clients up with two additional free programs.

First is spybot search and destroy at www.safer-networking.org . Once installed, you can update the program, and then use the immunize function to protect your computer against known threats. As long as the client remembers to update and re-immunize every week or two, this provides a good additional layer of protection.

The second program is Spyware Blaster at www.javacoolsoftware.com Spyware Blaster also has update and protection functions. In this program, you check for updates, then click on the item that says, “Enable all protection”. Again, as long as the user checks for updates, then enables protection, this program will block malicious software from getting into the system.

Both of these free programs provide protection but do not need to be running in the background. This means that they don’t slow your computer down, they don’t conflict with your antivirus software, and they can both be installed on a computer at the same time.

I have used Ad-Aware in the past, and I have nothing against it, I just feel that the two programs I use are the best for my clients needs, and adding another program would probably be overkill.

The free version of anti malware that you mentioned is a good program, but it is better used after the fact to remove infections. I am pretty sure you have to purchase it in order to use it to prevent infections.

Elizabeth

Please advise, Jeanne

Dear Jeanne,

You have indeed been snookered! The program you are referring to, Antivirus Soft, is just one in a long list of malware programs that have been infecting computers.

Antivirus Soft is not really an antivirus program. It has taken your computer captive and held it for ransom. Unfortunately, you paid that ransom with your credit card, and now the thieves who created and distributed this program have your credit card information. Your first step in recovering from this malware is to contact your credit card company, dispute the charges, and get a new credit card number!

The next step is to get all traces of this program off your computer. You can search google for directions on removing Antivirus Soft, and try following them, or your can bring the computer to your local repair shop and have them remove all traces of the program for you.

Some of these ransom programs are very hard to get rid of, and the only option to be completely sure it is gone is to erase your hard drive and reinstall Windows.

Once you have a clean computer, I would suggest a more robust antivirus, and anti-malware program like AVG Internet Security. In addition, it helps to install Spybot Search & Destroy at www.safer-networking.org and Spyware Blaster at www.javacoolsoftware.com

Both programs are free, and if you keep them updated, they will protect your computer from many of these malware programs.

Elizabeth

Anne

Dear Anne,

You ask a good question. Since most internet security software packages cost over $100, you really need to weigh your options.

I can tell you that I have never had one of those packages installed on my computer, and I have never been infected by a virus, or hacked into by hackers. I did once get some spyware on my system, but that was while I was testing a free software program for the newsletter. Needless to say, that software program did not make it into this newsletter.

I can also tell you, that it is my experience working on computers, that 90% of the virus infected computers that I have to clean out, were running Norton at the time they got infected. I also occasionally have worked on computers that would not even go on the internet once a security suite was installed.

So, what do I use to protect my computer and not have to deal with intrusive security programs? I use one piece of hardware, one inexpensive program, and several free programs.

First, for security, I use a router. This is a piece of hardware that connects to your cable or DSL modem and then can connect to one or more computers. Most people buy a router so that they can hook more than one computer up to the internet, but the router also acts as a hardware firewall, protecting you from hackers on the internet. If you have a dial-up internet connection, the built in Windows XP firewall will be enough to protect you.

Some of the advantages of using a router as a firewall include:

1. You buy it once and can use it with any computer you own.

2. Your router will work for multiple computers, you don’t have to purchase a software package for each computer.

3. No need to purchase yearly upgrades. It will do its job as long as you use it.

In addition to my router, I use an antivirus program called AVG. I don’t use the internet security package, just the AVG Antivirus which protects me from viruses and spyware. You can get a 30 day trial at: http://tinyurl.com/2olst7 and a 2 year subscription is $51.99

To protect myself from spyware, I use two free programs that are really great. One is “Spybot Search & Destroy” and the other is called “Spyware Blaster”. Both of these programs can be found at www.download.com

When I clean out a computer that has been infected with viruses and spyware, I always make sure they go home with these programs installed. The computers run better, longer once they are protected by these great programs.

Elizabeth

Please advise. Thank you Kim

Dear Kim,

There has been a rise recently in nasty programs that pretend to scan your computer, report that it is infected with viruses and then prompts you to enter your credit card information in order to get rid of the supposed viruses.

DON’T GIVE THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION!!

These programs are not antivirus programs, they are simply programs written by scam artists in an attempt to fool you into giving them your credit card information.

I have been busy removing these fake antivirus programs in the past few weeks. Some of them are fairly easy to get rid of, while others are very difficult and aren’t totally gone until the hard drive has been erased.

Try updating your antivirus program and run a full scan. You can also try some of the popular (free) antispyware programs like Spybot Search & Destroy and Spyware Blaster.

If all else fails, you will have to bring it to your local computer repair shop.

Elizabeth

Dear Computer Lady,

I hope you can HELP ME!

 I have WinME. My Free AVG 7 stopped supporting WinME on April 30. And I can’t upgrade because of O.S. Is there a GOOD & Free online Antivirus program that will support this O.S.??

 We absolutely cannot afford to upgrade our computer. I am unemployed now and husband is looking at a possible job loss!

 Thank you for all you do. I have received your newsletters since getting this computer 8 yrs ago !

Alice

Dear Alice,

I can understand your dilemma, and I can understand the position of the software companies. Since the average life of a computer is 5 years, and after 10 years there are not many computers still running operating systems that old, software companies  do not find it cost effective to devote programming and testing to such a small percentage of the market.

Because the average person replaces their computer every 5 years, there are probably lots of people around you with an “old” computer that is actually newer than your computer that they don’t know what to do with. If you spend some time looking around, you can probably find a nice little computer that is running Windows XP. Look on places like www.craigslist.org  and www.freecycle.org 

I just did a quick search for free computers at craigslist and found several free computers in my area.

In the meantime, I was able to find you a solution that will work until the end of this year.  Avast Antivirus at www.avast.com still has a free version that will support Windows ME until the end of 2009.

There is also a free antivirus program called, ClamWin antivirus that works with Windows ME, at http://www.clamwin.com  but you must run scans with this program, it does not include a real-time scanner.

I hope this helps.

Elizabeth