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Tech Tip #1 --Anti Virus Protection & A Free Solution!

Real Estate Tech Tip #1

This is the first of many blogs that are intended to help solve "life's little technical problems"

Today we are focusing on: Anti-Virus protection

I cannot stress enough how important it is to have Up-To-Date anti-virus protection on each and every computer that you have. If you do not have anti-virus protection on your computer, you must get protected ASAP. If you do have it, make sure that your account is still active, and that your subscription has not expired. Your computer cannot receive virus protection updates on an expired subscription. If you are experiencing either of the problems above (no anti-virus protection or expired subscription) worry no more. I am providing you with a free option in anti-virus protection, but before I give you the link, we first need to delete any old anti-virus protection on your computer, as having multiple protection software packages on your computer can really affect your computers performance. This is good to know, even if you don't need new protection.

Click on START

Go to the CONTROL PANEL

Then you want to open ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS

The next step is for you to REMOVE any old antivirus suites off of your computer

Once you've completed this, restart your computer.

Now you want to open your web browser

Go to: http://free.grisoft.com/

Click on the DOWNLOADS button

Then choose under the header Free Downloads

Choose AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 7.5

Then download the program, and install it on your computer, following all steps provided in the setup.

There will be a checkbox option for running a daily scan, I would uncheck this option. It seems to slow down your boot up time.

After setup is complete, I would run a virus scan on your computer, and delete or quarantine any viruses that it finds.

Now your computer is always up-to-date, the virus software automatically updates itself, and it is some of the best software out there available, plus it is a very LIGHT program meaning that it doesn't slow down the performance of your computer as compared to Norton or McAfee, both of which I do not recommend anymore due to their computer performace issues (and price).

Please note, that this free version is meant for non-commercial use computers, therefore it should not be used on your office computers, but can be used on your home computers and laptops.

Hope this helps, and stay tuned to our next Tech Tip/Fix! Or visit our website for more tips and support.

Happy Holidays,

David Fox,
The Real Estate Tech Desk
http://www.defpc.net/

Posted by David Fox, Real Estate Technology Specialist on 12/17/2007 08:36 PM

Comments (11)

antivirus, anti virus, computer help, tech tips, defpcnet, defpc, pc help, real estate computers, real estate tech desk

11 Comments on Tech Tip #1 --Anti Virus Protection & A Free Solution!

DEC

2007

Or just buy a mac :) Sorry had to say it. But shouldnt say it for long the hackers are out there and with Macs popularity it has drawn them out of their holes. Your Orlando & Lake Mary Real Estate Expert, Heather Joubran

Great tip David! You can also get the full version of AVG for free. I discovered that this weekend when I needed to download some new virus protection. They have teamed up with a company called TrialPay. When you opt for one of their offers, you get the full version of AVG for free (it's usually around $50 I think). I just had to sign up for a 4-week trial of Stamps.com to get the free software. Now all I have to do is remember to cancel my Stamps.com membership so the software stays truly free.

Orlando, Yeah Mac's are great (as I am sitting here watching the Christmas MAC/PC commercial on TV) and a great thing with macs are, you can run windows inside of a "virtual machine" your on a mac, and I'm sure you know about that!

DEC

2007

Sarah,

I did not know that you can get the full version for free! Good to know... However, I personally would still go with the free version because I have a bad habit of not canceling things in time....I also don't send in those mail in rebates either---I always forget those!

David - thanks for the tip. Have you ever dealt with Avast?

On another topic - since most of these programs (with the exception of NAV - yuck) don't have anti spam filters - what do you suggest for an antispam filter on email?

Matthew, I have not dealt with Avast, although I have heard of it, and have clients that use it. I tend to deal with AVG simply because i know the protection is great, and I can walk clients right through the download, setup, and use of the program.

Hmmm Anti-spam, You know I used to use NAV's anti-spam as it used to be the best, now-a-days I dont which software is best. I personally don't use any. I use outlooks spam blocker--its more of a pain, since you have to block each email individually that is spam, but once you have a good database setup of spam, hardly any come through. Let me look into good spam protection and I will email you!

DEC

2007

David installed this on my computer (I'm lucky, he's right in my area), and I haven't had any issues with it or my computer. It doesn't seem to clog up things the way McAfee did for me in the past. Thanks, David!

JAN

2008

Thanks David. I've been hampered with McAfee's resource requirements. This will be a nice change.

John

Margaret, Yes, this certainly did help your older dell xp machine in performance!

John, I was looking for an alternative for my clients due to the resources McAfee & Norton required (hogged I should say) and I found this great free alternative. For businesses, this is a great solution too! Its much cheaper than McAfee & Norton and has all the same if not more features then they do, plus AVG seems to release alot more protection updates then their competition (which is a good thing)

JAN

2008

Avast will blow all other options out there for free that is

http://www.avast.com/

i posted a blog walking through install step by step

David, I notice on the site that the free version is intended for home and non-commercial use. Would it be right to use it on a computer that we use for work?

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