AVG Anti-Virus

These instructions have been moved to the ITS Knowledge Base [http://helpdesk.pomona.edu].
You will be redirected in a moment.

What is AVG Anti-Virus?

AVG is one of the three PC antivirus programs supported by Pomona. AVG is free for non-commercial use and can be downloaded from the Grisoft website.

How do I install AVG Anti-Virus?

1. The first step is to download it from the Grisoft website. This download should only take a few minutes.
2. When you open the file you just downloaded, you should see this friendly screen. Click Next to continue.
   
   
   
3. This is one of those ginormous license agreements stating all the terms and conditions of your use of the software. You can read this if you're curious and have far too much time to kill, but there's nothing in here you really need to know. Click Accept.
   
   
   
4. Software companies are beginning to catch on to the fact that no one reads these giant license agreements, so they want to make sure that you really, truly, and honestly want to follow their rules by asking you twice. Click Accept.
   
   
   
5. Now that the company has been reassured that you're going to play nice, you get to choose which type of installation you want. A standard installation will cover your bases just fine, so unless you really want to do some tweaking (in which case, feel free), just click Next.
   
   
   
6. Enter your name in the appropriate box. The program will provide you with a license number automatically. (Isn't that thoughtful?) Click Next. Almost done!
   
   
   
7. Make sure all the information here is correct, then click Finish to get on with the actual installation.
   
   
   
8. After you watch a status bar or two, you'll have AVG on your computer. Yay! Click Ok to run the program.
   
   
   
9. Now that you have AVG, it's time to set it up. Click Next.
   
   
   
10. The first thing the program wants to do is find new updates. Updates help your anti-virus program to combat the latest threats as they appear, and are in general a very good thing. Click Check for Updates to make AVG happy.
    
    
    
11. You're going to want to check AVG's website to find the most recent updates (since they probably aren't anywhere on your computer), so click Internet to get them.
    
    
    
12. Choose whichever update AVG recommends and click Update.
    
    
    
13. AVG suggests that you create a rescue disk in case the program comes across something it can't handle. We at the ITS Helpdesk, however, can handle anything that AVG can't. If you ever come across a problem that serious, call us at x18062 for assistance. Click Next to skip this step.
    
    
    
14. Pomona uses Postini? to keep spam and virus-infected messages from reaching your computer. If you feel you need an extra level of protection, go ahead and click Configure E-mail Scanner, but we recommend you just click Next.
    
    
    
15. Scanning your computer for viruses is never a bad thing. Click Scan Computer! (see how excited AVG is?) to start the scan.
    
    
    
16. Registering AVG gives you access to a few cool features you will probably never use. It's a good idea anyway, so click Register AVG Free to be redirected to the website and fill in some information. If you'd rather not register, click Next.
    
    
    
17. All done. Yay! Click Continue... to get back to whatever you were doing, secure in the knowledge that your computer is protected.
    
    

How do I use AVG Anti-Virus?

Updating AVG Anti-Virus

1. Anti-Virus software is only useful if you keep it up to date. By default AVG will keep itself up to date, but if you need to update it manually you can.
2. To start the program, click on the AVG icon on your desktop, or go to Start > All Programs > AVG Free Edition > AVG Free Edition for Windows. You should see the screen below. Click Check for Updates.
   
   
   
3. You're going to want to check AVG's website to find the most recent updates (since they probably aren't anywhere on your computer), so click Internet to get them.
   
   
   
4. Choose whichever update AVG recommends and click Update.
   
   
   

Running a scan with AVG

1. Once you've updated AVG, give it a run by clicking Scan Computer. This will go faster if you clean out your browser cache first. Click the link for instructions on how to do that.
   
   The scan should take anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour depending on the size of your hard drive. You should be able to use your computer for other things while the scan is in progress, but keep in mind that the scan uses up lots of RAM, so it's normal for programs to run more slowly. If the scan has turned up something, it will be indicated in red text, and the infected files will be at the bottom of the list.
2. Once the scan is done, AVG will probably tell you that it hasn't healed any files. Healing only works on legitimate files that have been infected by a virus. Since that type of virus isn't very common anymore, don't worry that the scan didn't find anything to heal. Click Ok to go to the Test Results box to deal with anything the scan turned up.
   
   
   
3. This box summarizes the results of your scan. It will automatically disappear after thirty seconds.
   
   
   
4. AVG doesn't let you directly delete infected files. In order to get rid of them, you'll have to move them to what's called a Virus Vault. This is just a separate area of the computer where the infected files can't screw with anything else until you've decided what to do with them. To move the files, click on them (hold down Ctrl while clicking to choose multiple files), then click Move to Vault. Now you can click on the Virus Vault button on the left sidebar to finish deleting the files.
   
   
   
5. Go to Action > Empty Vault.
   
   
   
6. This box pops up to confirm that you really want to empty the vault. Click Yes, and the infected files will be cleaned from your computer.
   
   

If this doesn't get rid of your virus problem, call ITS at x18062 for more assistance.

Do I have to run AVG Anti-Virus every time I want to keep my computer clean?

Nope! The nice thing about virus scanners is that they will run in the background to provide constant protection. As soon as you try to open a file that is infected, this window will pop up:

You're given several options for dealing with the problem. Generally, you'll want to choose Delete. If the file is something you recognize, click Move to Vault. This places the infected file in an area of the computer where it won't infect other files, so you can decide whether or not it's really an infected file.