AVG Antivirus is Free

If you’re an experienced Good Booter I’ll wager you’ve witnessed the elation of a novice when Windows displays for the first time the grandeur of their new computer’s Desktop.

And perhaps when the novelty of successfully booting to a Desktop filled with eye candy wore off, you were deputized by the novice to be their resident mentor. And as such was expected to help them begin their computing adventure.

For those who may in the future find themselves so deputized, I thought a Good Boot series on how to introduce a novice to a safe, inexpensive and productive computing adventure would be appropriate.

Obviously your first responsibility would be to instruct your novice on how to secure their computer from lurking bad guys. So keeping in mind one of your goals is to offer inexpensive alternatives I suggest if you’re coaching an Xper, you have them download and install Microsoft’s free Windows Defender for Spyware.

Vista users need not download Defender as it’s already installed and running in the background. However, I suggest to insure your novice is aware of the importance of continuous anti spyware monitoring, you place Defender’s icon in their Notification Area. Click Start > All Programs > Windows Defender > Tools > Options and scroll down and click "Always" under "Choose when the Windows Defender icon appears in the notification area".

Next is to have your novice select, install and update an anti virus program. Again with the goal of installing inexpensive but quality software, I recommend AVG "Free" anti virus software for XP and Vista. The quickest way to find the AVG "Free" download is to Google "AVG 8.0 "Free".

Note:
* The free version of AVG 7.5 expired May 31st.
* Although I’ve been told the free version of AVG 8 will uninstall 7.5 before it installs itself, I suggest uninstalling 7.5 and then install 8.0.
Although AVG "Free" is considered to be an excellent alternative to Norton and McAfee, to be absolutely sure you will not expose yourself to e-mailed viruses, you must adhere to "Keller's Rules of Safe Computing!" - www.compu-doctor.com/indexh.htm

Next week I’ll continue this series on how to mentor your adopted novice. But just in case your adoptee tries to install a program in your absence, be sure you show them how to create a System Restore Point.
* XP: Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore > Create a Restore Point.
* Vista: Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore > To Create a Restore Point.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.