antivirus Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Can a PC with an antivirus app still catch a virus?

Posted on April 27, 2026

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Question from Arlen: I bought a new laptop in August 2022 and paid the people at Best Buy to install Webroot antivirus on it.

This machine has always worked great but a few weeks ago it locked up on me with a message saying it had been taken over by a hacker.

I was finally able to shut it down by holding the power button in but when I turned it back on it went right back to that same screen.

I took it to Best Buy and the technician said it had a virus and they were going to charge me $150 to remove it. [Read more…]

Q&A: Does my iPhone need an antivirus app?

Posted on January 17, 2026

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Question from Lilly: Hello, Rick. I just have a very quick question.

Do I need to install an antivirus app on my iPhone? One friend says I do and another friend says I don’t.

I’d really like to know for sure so I can make sure my phone is protected. I just don’t want to install another app if I don’t need it. But if I do need to install one, which one would you recommend? [Read more…]

Real-Time vs. On-Demand: Antivirus protection explained

Posted on December 16, 2025

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I’ve been receiving questions from folks who are confused about the terms Real-Time and On-Demand in regards to antivirus protection, so I thought it might be helpful to explain the difference between them here.

Both real-time and on-demand antivirus protection are important for keeping your computer free of viruses and other forms of malware, but while they are closely-related, they operate in very different ways. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why can’t I remove the Antivirus app from my computer?

Posted on November 30, 2025

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Question from Dale: Hi, Rick. I have a problem that I hope you can help me with.

Following your recommendation, I recently bought the Premium version of Malwarebytes for our computers. I also read your post about only running one antivirus app at a time.

I’m trying to uninstall AVG Antivirus before installing Malwarebytes, but I’m running into a problem.

I was able to remove AVG from my wife’s computer with no problems at all, but when I try to uninstall it from my laptop it gives me an error and the uninstall fails. Can you tell me what I need to do to remove AVG from my computer? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it safe to keep using an antivirus that has expired?

Posted on November 4, 2025

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Question from Jimmy: A few months ago I bought a new laptop that came with McAfee Antivirus pre-installed on it.

I thought it was the real McAfee program but apparently it was just a trial version because this morning I got a notice saying the trial subscription had expired.

I tried to uninstall it so I could install Malwarebytes Premium but I can’t get it to uninstall. It gives me an error every time I try to remove it.

My question is would it be safe for me to keep using the McAfee program that’s installed on my laptop even though it’s expired? [Read more…]