AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is trusted
antivirus and antispyware protection for Windows available to download
for free. In addition, the new included LinkScanner® Active Surf-Shield
checks web pages for threats at the only time that matters - when you're
about to click that link.
AVG Anti-Virus Free has these following features:
- Award-winning antivirus and antispyware
- Real-time safe internet surfing and searching
- Quality proven by 80 million of users
- Easy to download, install and use
- Protection against viruses and spyware
- Compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is only available for single computer use for home and non commercial use.
This is the 32-bit version.
click here for : Download
- Update your Operating System regularly to ensure that the operating system (OS) is updated with the latest security patches.
Be careful with automatic updates, however. Allowing automatic updates
seems like a good idea but in reality it can severely slow down your
computer. If an update goes out that has any sort of bug in it and you
lose valuable data the OS company will not compensate your losses. In
addition to this the auto update program that searches for updates will
slow down your computer when searching for an update. To change whether
you have auto update enabled or not, click on the Start Menu->All
Programs and select the Windows Update icon.
2
Usually installing any
antivirus will slow down any system, so be wise and choose an antivirus
which is effective but light on the system as well. Everyone has a
different favorite antivirus program. For example, some say Norton
Antivirus 2011 is one of the best on the market, and allows you to run
fully protected while taking up almost no system resources. Others say
Norton has at least 3 to 4 separate processes running and slows the
system down. Before making a big investment, talk to a few people and do
some online research. Try out some of the programs individually first,
if possible. Whatever you choose, make sure you have backups of your
important files though.
3
Know what is running on your computer as this will increase your ability to identify potential harmful processes.
Call up the Windows Task Manager (press CTRL+ALT+DEL) and familiarize
yourself with the processes running at any point in time. Use the
"msconfig" tool to check which programs are starting at the boot time.
Some common tools (Acrobat Reader, HP printer driver, Java scheduler)
have a nasty habit to "call home" and check for updates. You can uncheck
those programs in the right-most tab of the "msconfig" tool.
4
Cleanup your tool bar and start menu by removing unnecessary software from running all the time.
Every thing on your taskbar (specifically the icons near the clock)
runs constantly, slowing down the computer. Also any program that is set
to start when you turn on your computer will cause the boot process to
take much longer than necessary.
5
Install firewall software or use the Windows firewall.
To activate your Windows Firewall click on your control panel and
select Windows Firewall. Switch the firewall on by ticking the "On"
radio button.
6
Do a complete maintenance on your computer, at least once a month.
This includes a Disk Defragmentation. If you have Windows, click on
Start>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup>Disk Defrag. If
you have linux you do not need to defragment as the filesystems in linux
are more intelligent for file placement.
- There are a wealth of various registry editing and repair programs
available, which provide differing features for all levels of expertise.
Users should have a thorough understanding of and familiarity with the
registry's contents before undertaking any modifications to its files,
as an inadvertent error could result in an unreadable hard drive. One
should always make a back up of the registry before any changes are
attempted.
- The computer's registry also plays a significant part in the efficiency of its operation.
- If you delete files often, then routinely use and run the
maintenance programs found within the Start menu, under Accessories and
System Tools. The most important of these are the Disk Defragmenter and
Disk Cleanup programs found therein. Defragmentation returns the
structure of the contents of the hard drive to a contiguous block,
thereby increasing the speed and efficiency of the hard drive's read
heads to access the stored material. Disk Cleanup removes no longer
needed, orphaned or remnants from deleted material from the hard drive.
Although these on-board programs are sufficient as a starting point for
most computer users, they are not the optimal choices that one could use
to maintain the integrity of the system. A large number of better
featured defragmentation and disk cleaning programs are available. More
information is available within the "Defragmentation" article on the
Wikipedia site.
- Another alternative, which is often overlooked by the majority of
computer users, is cloning of the hard drive. Cloning is the act of
making an exact copy of the hard drive, which can then be transferred
onto a new drive when trouble rears its ugly head, without the need to
reinstall either the operating system, programs, usage preferences for
those programs or data files.
- For example, at the time one initially sets up a new hard drive and
installation of the programs and preference settings are completed, one
may wish to clone the hard drive to CD or DVD installation disks for
that rainy day, which will surely come.
- Free anti-spyware and anti-virus programs can be found on the
internet, and can be very effective. They usually let you download the
non-professional edition free. Some people say you get what you pay for,
but many have also used these programs for years and swear by them. Try
them out and see what you think.
- Once the need for a hard drive
reformat or replacement is required, one would only have to drag out
the clone installation disks to return the hard drive as it was
originally configured without the chore of searching out the operating
system and program installation software. Following the installation,
the hard drive "magically" reappears exactly as it was originally
installed or at the time it was last updated.
- The advantages of cloning are many. More information may be found within the Wikipedia article on disk cloning.
- Most
of the virus protectors come with maintenance programs that has a
setting for you to have maintenance scheduled automatically.
- There are a number of popular cloning programs available that either
allow the user to update and backup any changes as needed or simply
make a one-time "snapshot" of the hard drive as it exists at a
particular time.
