viruses Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

How to make sure your downloads aren’t infected with a virus

Posted on June 14, 2026

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Regular readers of this blog know I’m a huge fan of free software because I routinely recommend the use of freeware whenever possible to accomplish whatever the task at hand may be.

But as you probably also know there can be hidden dangers lurking behind the scenes every time you install a piece of free software.

The dangers range all the way from the installation of unwanted add-on software to installing viruses and other forms of malware right along with the programs themselves.

[Read more…]

Q&A: How can I completely remove Norton antivirus from my PC?

Posted on June 10, 2026

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Question from Dagan: I’ve been using Norton 360 for years, but it recently let a bunch of viruses slip through and get installed on my computer.

Norton removes a bunch of viruses every time I run it but they just keep coming right back.

I want to ditch Norton and install Malwarebytes Premium but I know you’re only supposed to run one antivirus app at a time.

The problem I’m having is I can’t seem to get all the Norton 360 files uninstalled so that I can install Malwarebytes. The Windows thingy that uninstalls programs gets rid of some of the Norton files but some of them come right back when I reboot the computer.

How can I completely uninstall ALL the Norton files from my hard drive? [Read more…]

Is your PC is acting weird? It’s probably malware.

Posted on March 18, 2026

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Has your computer started acting weird all of a sudden? For example…

Do web pages take forever to load?

Are you getting irritating pop-ups on a regular basis?

Does your browser load strange pages that you didn’t intentionally visit?

Has your home page or default search engine been mysteriously changed without your permission?

If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, your PC is probably infected with malware. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can a virus jump from one drive to another?

Posted on March 8, 2026

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Question from Kendra: Hi, Rick. I need to ask you a computer question.

I know this sounds silly, but it’s a serious question and I really need to know the answer.

Can a virus that’s on one drive jump onto another drive? [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…]