• Will my virus software quit working if I can no longer update it?

An out of date anti-virus software is only a little better than no virus software at all. Virus scanners work by comparing the information on your computer against a collection of virus “signatures”. Each signature helps identify a particular virus, and when the scanner finds data in a file, email, or software that matches the signature, it notifies the user that it has found a virus.

However, a virus scanner can only scan for viruses that it recognizes. It is vital that you keep your anti-virus software up to date. Virtually every maker of anti-virus software provides a way to get updated signature and program files from their website.

There are several good anti-virus software programs available on the internet that can be downloaded for free that will update the signature files automatically. The links below will take you to some of the more popular free programs available.

Avast                           Microsoft                         AVG