How to protect your computer from viruses

What follows is a short guide to protecting your computer from viruses using free tools available on the internet. The main steps are:
  1. Download new antivirus software
  2. Remove existing antivirus software
  3. Install new antivirus software
AVG AntiVirus is pretty good. It scans email and files & regular updates are available to catch the latest viruses. It is one of the least obtrusive desktop antivirus solutions I have encountered.

Ok. Let's begin.


1. Download new antivirus software

Right-click on this link and choose 'save target as' (or equivalent): AVG Free AntiVirus software.
(this software came from: http://free.grisoft.com)

Now save this file somewhere, like My Documents, or your desktop. It's 12MB in size, so it will take half an hour to download via modem on a good day.


2. Remove existing antivirus software

(If you have no antivirus software, you can skip this step).
Ok, how we do this will depend on what software you have. You can try one of three strategies:
  • Browse through your 'Start' menu to find something like 'Uninstall McAfee' (for example), and click to run the uninstall program. Or..
  • Click 'Start', 'Settings', 'Control Panel', then look for 'Add/Remove Programs' and double-click to run that. Then find your antivirus software and click 'Remove'. Or..
  • Open Windows Explorer (Shortcut: hold down the Windows-Key and press E), and browse to 'My Computer', 'C:', 'Program Files' and look for your antivirus software in that list. Go inside the appropriately-named folder, if you can find one, and look for an 'uninstall' or 'unwise' program that you can double-click.
Now, assuming that your antivirus software has been removed, we can proceed to:


3. Install new antivirus software

  • Find the file you downloaded earlier
  • Double-click and follow the instructions
Once installed, AVG appears as a little icon in the system tray (the bottom right of your screen, near the clock). You can double-click that icon to get further options.

Now that your computer is protected, AVG will automatically try to get updates occasionally (when you're online). It usually takes a minute at most.