Free Advice: Free but excellent anti-virus software
Free Advice: Why 'Free Advice'? And why not? Why not share good information with those who don't have it. All the info that i will be sharing with you did not come my way the easy way, not at all. They came about as a result of finding myself in need of a solution, and I would get online and find message boards that might provide a way out of my predicament. Help is out there and it is free, and many generous souls do spend their time on message boards answering questions.
Today, i begin with a free but great anti-virus software that has already been downloaded by 70 million people. 70 million people could not all be wrong. This great anti-virus software was provided to me by my web-hosting company member way back in September of 2007. He said that it was 'very good'. He should have said, 'excellent, superb, magnificent' and I most likely would have looked at it. But then tech people are not known to be too expressive. Fast forward to April of 2008 and my existing anti-virus software by the name of 'Trend Micro' was to expire April 6. I started receiving reminder messages to renew it not via email but via the more brazen way, by posting a pop up message on my window screen, disrupting my attention. The pop up messages begun two months before expiration, then they started to appear weekly and seven days before expiration, they started to pop up every day. On the last day, there was a message that i could have it for 20% off. You see, they waited until the last day to give me a discount. I decided to take advantage of the discount and did register the anti-virus software for another year for $40, but somehow the process did not go through, which I was not aware of till the next day. Then this anti-virus company became vengeful! There was a permanent pop up message stuck on my screen that i was not able to remove. It was 'scare time'. The pop up message indicated that there was a file on my computer and that the danger level was classified as 'high'. What would i like to do, the pop up message asked? Do I want to delete it, it asked? well, yea, who needs danger lurking by, right? but I could not find the file to even delete it. My computer became very slow, and I received a pop up message asking me if i had noticed that my computer might be slow and they explained the reason being something having to do with their software. It may be be hard to believe what I am telling you, but then what reason would I have to make it up? But the straw that broke the camel's back for me was when the anti-virus software interfered with my text-editor. (for those who don't know what a text-editor is, it is like ms word, but for creating web pages). I was totally unable to create web pages without my text editor! I had deleted my text editor and downloaded it again, but it would not install. I did communicate via email with the owners of the text editor, and I told them what I suspected was the anti-virus software was causing all the havoc to my system.
Then, slowly but surely, I remembered the communication that I had with a member of my hosting company in September of 2007 and having mentioned a free anti-virus software. I went looking for that link, downloaded it, REMOVED Trend-Micro anti virus, and installed the new free anti-virus software. it did not take me long to realize why 70 million people had downloaded it. It is excellent, it is better than excellent and it is free. How could it be free and so great? They do have additional protection that they sell (that i even bought) and they make their money that way.
Please find the link to this great anti-virus software at the bottom of the page. when you download it and install it, it keeps updating itself and you don't have to fork out $40 or $50 a year. I also do believe that the anti-virus software companies are those who are creating the viruses in the first place. think about it, no virus, no business for the anti-virus software companies.
Before download, some reminders:
- it helps to have a specific folder for your downloads, go to [start] [my documents] [new folder]. name your folder something you can remember like 'downloads'
- download your new free anti-virus to this new folder
- go to [start] then [all programs] and click on your existing commercial anti-virus software. it should have [uninstall]. That is the best way to get rid of an existing software, it cleans itself completely as it makes its exist out of your computer. if the specific anti-virus software does not have an [uninstall] feature, then go to [start] [control panel] [add or remove programs]. it will list all the programs and click on your anti-virus software.
- install your new anti virus software by clicking on it inside the folder where you saved it. There! you are set for life with a wonderful free anti-virus software.
- Remember: You can only have one anti-virus software installed on your computer, otherwise there will be problems.