Reference number: CH000533
How do I update
my antivirus program?
Issue:How do I update my antivirus program?
Additional information:Computer viruses, worms, and other threats to computers are frequently
created by malicious users, and to help your computer from
becoming infected, antivirus companies develop definition, identity,
or pattern file updates that enable the antivirus program identify and prevent new viruses,
worms, and other threats from attacking your computer.
If your your computer and antivirus scanner is not updated it will be vulnerable to any
computer virus or worm that has been released since your last
update. This could mean if you have not updated your antivirus
program in over a month that your computer could be infected or have
the potential of being infected by dozens of different viruses
and/or worms.
Ultimately, it would be beneficial to check for updates every few
days, but we realize that not all users can do this. Therefore,
Computer Hope would strongly suggest that you make an effort to
update as much as you possibly can and/or update at least three
times a month.
New computer viruses, worms, scams, and other computer related
threats are posted on our free
Security news site a few times every week. This page can also be
used as a tool to help protect your computer and know when you may
need to update your antivirus program.
Answers:
Update through antivirus program
The majority of new antivirus programs (programs or computers
purchased after the year 2000) enable users to update their
antivirus program through the software. Open the Virus program and
look for "Update", "Check for updates",
"Live Update", or something similar. Below are some
examples of how a user may update their antivirus program.
- Microsoft Windows users running recent versions of McAfee
can double-click on the Vshield icon in their systray
and click "Check for VirusScan update" to check for
available updates.
- Microsoft Windows users running recent versions of Norton
can double-click on the Norton icon in their systray and click
the "Live Update" to check for available updates.
Update through antivirus web page
If your antivirus program does not include the ability to update
your virus definitions through the software program or you wish to
download your definition updates directly from the developers web
page, make sure to first identify what version you are running and
then visit your manufacturer's web page below to update your
software.
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