antivirus Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

How to remove an antivirus app that Windows can’t uninstall

Posted on November 2, 2022

I receive hundreds of tech questions every week, and as you might expect some questions get asked over and over.

One of the questions that gets asked most often is some variation of “How do I remove [McAfee, Norton or whatever] from my computer?”

For various reasons, antivirus apps can sometimes be difficult to remove with Windows’ native uninstaller, and I’ve had my own issues with many of them in the past.

Luckily, there’s a simple way to remove most any antivirus program from your computer: Just download and run that company’s automated removal tool! [Read more…]

Q&A: Does Windows 10 really need an antivirus app?

Posted on October 28, 2022

Question from Marge: I just bought a refurbished laptop with Windows 10 on it and I want to make sure it’ll be safe from viruses.

It seems like I remember reading somewhere that you don’t need to buy an antivirus program for Windows 10 because it comes with one built-in.

The problem is other things I’ve read said you do need to install and antivirus program.

Which one is true? [Read more…]

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

Posted on October 10, 2022

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 is 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: Do I need to run manual scans with my antivirus app?

Posted on September 27, 2022

Question from Curtis: I have my antivirus program set to run automatic scans on three nights each week (I read somewhere that three times a week is the best schedule to follow).

My question is will those three automatic scans be enough to protect my computer from viruses or should I run manual scans too just to be safe? [Read more…]

How to manually run a full virus scan with Microsoft Defender

Posted on June 7, 2022

As I explained in this post, both Windows 10 and Windows 11 have a built-in antivirus engine called Microsoft Defender.

And truth be told, it actually does a pretty good job at keeping your PC virus-free.

But like all other antivirus apps, Microsoft Defender isn’t perfect. It’s always possible that a digital nasty will slip through and infect your system. [Read more…]