malware Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

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…]

Does your browser need to be updated? Find out now and stay safe.

Posted on November 19, 2025

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These days most people are aware that viruses, spyware, adware and other types of malware are lurking in the shadows of the Internet, just waiting for an opportunity to sneak onto their computers’ hard drives and perform all kinds of mischief.

What many folks don’t know however is just how easy it is for a computer or mobile device (and the sensitive data stored on it) to become compromised simply by using an out-of-date web browser that doesn’t have the latest security updates installed.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Can you ‘Undo’ a System Restore on a Windows PC?

Posted on October 9, 2025

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Question from Edward: Hello, Rick. Love your site! I hope you can answer a question for me.

I downloaded a game onto my Dell laptop a few days ago and I immediately started getting lots of pop-up ads on my screen.

I uninstalled the game but I’m still getting the pop-ups. I read in a Windows forum that a System Restore should fix the problem but that there are no guarantees.

My question is can a System Restore be reversed if it doesn’t fix the problem (0r if causes more problems)? [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I find out how much data each app on my PC is using?

Posted on September 28, 2025

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Question from Gary: My ISP has notified me that I have exceeded the monthly data allotment for my Internet plan and that I might have to pay extra this month.

I don’t understand this because I only use the Internet for about 1 to 2 hours per day and I don’t do much streaming at all other than watching an occasional YouTube video.

I only have one computer using my WiFi connection. No phones or tablets use WiFi, just this one computer. There is nothing connected via a wired connection either.

I’m hoping you can help me find out what’s using all that data? [Read more…]