Uninstall AWM Antivirus Quickly and Easily

When you are infected with AWM Antivirus you will receive constant warnings such as this one: Critical System Warning!

Your system is probably infected with a version of Trojan-Spy.HTML.Visafraud.a. This may result in website access passwords being stolen from Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Outlook etc. Click Yes to scan and remove threats (recommended).

Additionally, your browser may be 'hijacked' meaning your searches are redirected to pages loaded with more spyware. Also, your legitimate programs, including virus removal tools and other software, can become blocked by this virus. You will need to follow the removal instructions to get rid of this threat.

Because of the nature of this virus, we have to delete AWM Antivirus before it causes serious damage to our computer or our identity. You can remove it either manually or automatically. A manual removal is only recommended for IT Professionals, and involves editing the system registry. If you are comfortable doing such work, then you will have to kill the exe process, delete the registry values in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folders, and delete related files and folders. The full listing can be found on my website.

Automatic removal is what I use and what I recommend, because it takes less time, and saves me the frustration and energy of a corrupt registry if a single error is made. Most importantly, the automatic removal tools that I recommend will protect a user's PC against the next tidal wave of spyware that is around the corner. Our bank accounts and personal identities are too valuable not to protect.

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Does Free Antivirus Software Work ?

Over 90% of free antivirus software is not frequently updated. Some is updated on a monthly basis and other software is only updated every few months. If you think this is a small problem for getting free software, think again. These updates are primarily for the virus definition database. This means that if a new virus appears or an older one is modified slightly to make it look different it will be picked up and stopped quickly. If you use free software that is not updated your computer might be infected with malware an viruses and you will not know about it, until your computer crashes or worse, your private and financial data is compromised.

Some so called free antivirus and anti-malware software is in fact malware in disguise. With an increasing amount of malware appearing every day you might discover too late that the free software you are using is in fact compromising your computer in a daily basis. If you pay for a full version your credit card details can be compromised too and your computer will have no protection and be left open to multiple attacks without you even being aware of it.

Some free software will actually report genuine files as infected with viruses. If you run windows update or if it updates automatically and an outdated antivirus software is run it will not recognise the updated files. In some cases the results can be catastrophic for your PC if it determines important system files are infected and deletes them. You could end up with an inoperable computer.
If you want to discover if free antivirus software does work follow these steps

The easiest way to determine if your computer is at risk if you are using free software is simple and a two step process.

Download a trial version of a well known antivirus software such as AVG or similar. Once you have done this update it to the latest version and then run a full scan on your PC. Do not run a quick scan as thus will skip files that may be infected. This can take an hour or so the first time you run it and will show you very quickly if there are any nasty surprises waiting for you.

Download and run a system and registry scanner such as PC health advisor which will scan your computer for hidden malware and malicious software that can corrupt your computer. This will find anything that should not be there and help you get rid of it automatically and quickly.

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Update Your AntiVirus

PC users are facing new computer viruses every day. Computer viruses not only affect home PCs, they clog up internet traffic and disrupt the business of big corporations, causing billion dollars worth of damage each year. To protect your computer and stop the spread of these malicious programs on the internet, you should renew your antivirus software and update it regularly.

PC users are facing new computer viruses every day. Computer viruses not only affect home PCs, they clog up internet traffic and disrupt the business of big corporations, causing billion dollars worth of damage each year. To protect your computer and stop the spread of these malicious programs on the internet, you should renew your antivirus software and update it regularly.

Instructions

1. Update your antivirus program if an update wasn't performed during the install or you didn't have an Internet connection available to you during the installation.

2. Update your virus definitions, the "signatures" that identify known viruses. When you buy your antivirus program, you'll receive a subscription for an update service which will allow you to download any new virus definitions. The update subscription is often for a year, so eventually you'll have to purchase a new subscription.

3. Upgrade your antivirus program. Antivirus companies release new versions of their software every few years. The new version will have features not available in your current system. Purchase these new upgraded programs and you'll have the latest features, enhanced virus protection and a fresh subscription for virus definition updates.

4. Maintain your antivirus software by scheduling automatic updates. If you rely on manual updates, you can easily forget to perform them and your virus definitions can fall behind.

5. Purchase more comprehensive software. Many antivirus companies offer both specialized and comprehensive antivirus programs. Though viruses are a problem, there are other types of "malware," such as spyware, worms and rootkits, that could infect your computer. If your antivirus program doesn't protect against them, consider purchasing additional programs or a more comprehensive program.

6. Download additional software. There are specialized software packages that can be downloaded free to handle more specific problems. For example, Lavasoft's AdAware or Safer Networking's Spybot: Search and Destroy programs can complement an antivirus program to protect your computer against spyware (see Resources below).

Update an Anti Virus Database From Zip

Antivirus programs may be updated automatically or manually. In automatic updates, activating the feature enables the antivirus software to automatically search for and download updates; in manual updates, the user has to locate the product's updates, download the file and install it. Depending on the developer and version of the antivirus program, the size, name and frequency of the updates may vary, but virtually all are ZIP files installed into an antivirus program similarly.

Instructions


Check your antivirus status. Double-click on the system-tray icon to launch the interface. From the software window, locate the appropriate section and make sure you have an active subscription and that your license has not expired. If you have an expired product, you may not be allowed to download updates or add the updates to your product.


Download the latest update file from your manufacturer's website. Some sites may require you to type in a subscriber ID and password. Look for your program in the website's Products page, specify your antivirus version and download the appropriate ZIP file. Unless directed otherwise by the manufacturer, make a dedicated folder and save the downloaded ZIP file inside it. Since you will be updating your antivirus on a regular basis, you should create a folder to download all ZIP-based update files.


When the file is downloaded, right-click on the icon and extract the files. If you do not have a program to extract files from ZIP, the option will not be displayed when you right-click on the file. Download and install a program such as WinZIP (see Resources) to unpack or extract ZIP files. You may choose to extract the files from the ZIP in the same folder or on a separate folder. To avoid confusion in subsequent ZIP-based updates, extract files in a different location. Follow the developer's recommendation on extracting, if any.


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Why Anti-Virus is A Must Have ?

If you own a computer then you better own anti-virus software too. Anti-virus software will help you keep your computer protected from worms, Trojans, spyware, adware and more. There are thousands of different viruses that your computer can be exposed to and without anti-virus software you are bound to get a virus on your computer at some point. In fact, without anti-virus software, you computer is a major crash just waiting to happen and such crashes can be quite costly in the end.

Viruses can be caught on your computer when you open emails, when you download documents or just by visiting various websites. Some viruses are a low threat and may only clog up your computer with unneeded spyware and your computer will consequently run a lot slower than it should. Other viruses will frequently corrupt files, delete files and rename files and if you attempt to remove certain viruses, they will even rename themselves and reinstall themselves when you reboot your computer. Such viruses are particularly difficult to get rid of and it is far better to have virus fighting software to destroy the virus before it can have its effect on your computer.

Some viruses can get into your address box and spread themselves from one user to another via email. It is not uncommon for an email worm to attach itself to emails that you send or even automatically send itself to everyone in your address book. So, it is good to have anti-virus software so that you can scan every email you receive before you open it. This way, the email virus doesn't have a chance of being installed on your computer. Corrupted emails can immediately be quarantined and deleted.

Anti-virus software is easy to install and only takes a few minutes to update. You should update any you have installed on a regular basis, as new viruses are always being created. All you have to do is click on update anti-virus software and your virus definitions and virus fighting tools will be immediately updated when you are using an Internet connection. You should be certain that all of your anti-virus software applications are updated every two weeks or a minimum of once a month.

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How to Manually Update Panda Antivirus

Panda is an antivirus software that has been around for several years. Antivirus software is important when protecting your machine from hackers, lost data and identity theft. Any antivirus software needs continual updates for the definition files. The definition files are the files that allow the software to identify new threats. As more viruses are created, antivirus experts are forced to create new files and updates for the software. These updates can be installed manually.

Instructions

Use the resource link to download the antivirus definition file. Download the file to a location on your computer. Enter your username and password. Only licensed users of Panda security can access the download files.

Make sure you note where you've saved the executable file. The browser prompts you for a location on your computer before downloading the file.

Navigate to the location to your computer where the file is found. Double-click the executable file. Once you double-click the file, a wizard starts that guides you through the installation process.

Agree to the user terms of service for the installation process. The application will automatically detect the location of the Panda Security antivirus application.

Reboot the computer once the installation is completed. This allows the new definition installation to take effect. The computer is now protected from new virus threats.

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How to Update My Anti Virus

Anti-virus software protects your computer from viruses, worms and other parasites. For an anti-virus to be effective, it should be able to identify newly-released viruses. Unlike most other software, updating an anti-virus means updating the list of threats it can protect against,\ and not the program itself. The exact process of updating depends on the developer of the anti-virus, but most programs can be updated in a similar manner.

1. Identify and locate the anti-virus icon in the system tray, near the clock in the bottom right of the desktop screen. In general, the program's shortcut icon in the desktop is the same as its system-tray icon. Some operating systems automatically hide inactive icons in the system tray; click on the small arrow in the system-tray to show hidden icons. For McAfee, the icon is a large white 'M' in a red background, for PC-Cillin it is a lightning bolt,and for Avast! a small 'a' in a circular orange background.

2. Right-click on the anti-virus icon to view different options in the menu. The option for updates may be labeled "Check For Updates," "Update Now" or simply "Update." The update option for McAfee and Avast! is "Updates" and for PC-Cillin is "Update Components." Highlight the appropriate label and click.

3. Confirm any alerts. Some programs, such as Trend Micro PC-Cillin, display a message in a dialog box, and asks for a prompt. Confirm by clicking on "Yes" or "OK" and proceed.


4. Wait for the software to check for available updates. You will have to be connected to the Internet. When new updates are found, the software shows a list and prompts for a confirmation. You can select which updates to download by checking its box or highlighting it. Items with unchecked boxes will not be downloaded. Specify which items to download and click "Yes" or "OK."

5. Download the selected updates. Depending on the type of anti-virus and the sizes of the update files, the time for this process may vary. Most anti-virus programs will display progress of the download on a status-bar.


6. Check whether the updated components have been installed correctly. After the download finishes, click "Yes" or "OK" to complete the process. Right-click on the system-tray icon and attempt to download updates again. After checking for updates, the program should display a message that the anti-virus software is up-to-date. Run a full-system scan with the updated anti-virus.

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