The Norton brand is probably the most synonymous brand when it comes to virus protection software. Norton Antivirus as been in existence since 1990, and since then a growing number of people have come to rely on the Norton name to protect their computers from virus attacks. In fact, Norton Antivirus is considered the most widely used antivirus software in the world today.

Over the years, Norton Antivirus as constantly underwent upgrades as a means of trying to improve on its ability to detect a growing number of viruses that are being spread. Additionally, each generation of the software incorporates several new features and services as a way of making it more effective in its task of detecting and eliminating (or quarantining) viruses as well as turning it into a more robust application. For example, in recent years, Norton Antivirus as begun to incorporate the detection not only of viruses ut also of Trojan horses, spyware and worms as a direct response to the growing proliferation of these potentially harmful pieces of malware.

With the release of Norton Antivirus 007, users should expect to see another set of new features that will help it remain the top of its class when it comes to virus protection. One of the biggest changes in the 2007 version over the previous 2006 version is the decision of the Norton Antivirus team to rewrite much of the code for the application. The result of this overhaul is a faster and lighter version of the antivirus software. Rewriting the code also meant that the interface was streamlined as well. Unlike the previous version, where each task appeared in a separate desktop window, the 2007 version wisely uses tabs inside just one window, which makes it much easier to manage.

Under the hood, Norton Antivirus also benefited from the code rewrite. For instance, the virus scan and the spyware scan now run simultaneously, which drastically cuts down on scanning time. Norton Antivirus 2007 also incorporates many of the functions of Norton Personal Firewall, which means the application can now also double as a “light” firewall.

Another very important feature of the new version of Norton Antivirus s the incorporation of enterprise level anti rootkit functions. This powerful level of protection against rootkits is well worth the price of the software especially with the growing prevalence of rootkit based attacks on computers. Overall Norton Antivirus 2007 is still arguably the best antivirus protection one can get, and the new version was definitely worth the wait unlike previous versions which disappointed.

Don’t be fooled–Real Antivirus is a scam. How it starts is you get flooded with intrusive, deceptive pop-ups telling you that your computer is infected and the only hope is to click the pop-up. You are scared that your computer may be harmed, so you click the pop-ups and go to the Real Antivirus (also called RealAV) website where a fake scan runs and tells you that you are infected. Yes, I said fake scan. The files it lists as infecting your computer are not on your computer. If you do a search you will find they don’t exist, but most people are so alarmed at this point that they just want to get the infection off their computer without even checking if its real or not.After the scan you are pressured to pay $89.95 on a credit card for a full version of Real Antivirus. Many cave in at this point, falling for the scare tactics, and give their credit card information to get the infection off their computer. The problem is you are not giving your credit card information to a legitimate company–you are giving your credit card information to scammers. There is no telling how they will use your credit card information.Now that you have given your money to Real Antivirus, you get the “program.” The program is really a bundle of spyware malware and adware . You still get pop-ups, your computer is being monitored for personal confidential information that will get sent to the original programmers of Real Antivirus, and your computer could be being used in denial-of-service attacks or for spamming others. Your computer will completely slow down because of all the background processes running on your computer, thanks to Real Antivirus. Real Antivirus is also known to hijack your web browser. We’ve also seen this program before as a different name; Real Antivirus is a clone of Antivirus 2008.How did you get this infection in the first place? Maybe you opened up some spam and got it, or maybe you thought you were going to watch a video and got it since it likes to disguise itself as a ActiveX codec. Aside from spam, the most common place to find it is on porn sites, but that doesn’t mean that is the only place to find it. Creators of programs like Real Antivirus are always looking for more ways and places to spread their programs.So how do you remove Real Antivirus I hate to tell you, but it is not easy. You have to do some research. As you learned with Real Antivirus, not all programs that say they get rid of infections on your computer do so. Some, as you have learned, are infections themselves. That is why you have to do some research. The best place to start is to look for a program with awards. Some examples of legitimate awards are Tucows 5 Star Rating, Soft14.com’s 5 Stars, 5StarShare.com Editor’s Pick, Topshareware.com 5 Stars, and WUGNET’s Hall of Fame. If a program has any of these awards you can be assured you’re getting a legitimate program that has proven itself to work well. I mean, if you are going to spend money on something, don’t you want to be sure it not only works, but works well?

When surfing the Internet, please avoid Andromeda Antivirus � This program is a rogue anti- spyware spyware rogram.  These programs present themselves as helpful programs, when in actuality they are very dangerous.  For starters, Andromeda Antivirus will pop up on your computer while you are online, warning you that it detects malicious software, or malware, and offer you a free scan of your computer.  The scam is simple.  The program gets you to click “Ok” on their free scan offer.  Once you click on it, your computer has given access to the program to download itself to your computer.  You will not understand that this is happening because the program will only show you the free scan that they claim in occurring.  Even worse, Andromeda Antivirus cannot even perform the scan!  The program is only in existence to download malware onto your computer.  The scan is just to scare you into giving the company money.After the free scan, you will be presented with the opportunity to buy the full version of their program which will claim to remove the dangerous software that they have found.  There are a couple of problems with this situation.  The dangerous software that Andromeda Antivirus will find is similar for every computer user—it’s either made up, or a listing of your temporary files.  Either way, if the programs are on your computer, they’re not dangerous to your operating system.  The result of the free scan is just to scare you into purchasing their full version.  Even if you purchase the full version, Andromeda Antivirus annot remove the software, even though it claims to.  The most dangerous result of Andromeda Antivirus is the potential that the program has to lift your personal information from your computer.  Even if you do not have your credit card information stored on your computer, these programs can record your key strokes and get your personal information from you typing your information into any kind of online forms or emails.  This can result in the loss of your hard-earned money, and potentially the loss of lots of your time if your identity is stolen and you have to report these things to your financial institutions.  Don’t forget about your computer slowing down.  Andromeda Antivirus ill give you so many security warnings that will keep your computer bogged down and running slowly.  You will be constantly pushed to buy their full version program.  So, be cautious about what you click on while on the Internet.  We believe that unless we click “download” we are safe, but even getting a free scan can get you infected.  In fact, once you have pop up warnings from Andromeda Antivirus, you probably have this malware.  You can try to remove the software by individually deleting the files (if you can find them), but most likely, these files are temporary and hidden with false file names.  You really need to reach some experts that know where and how these programs hide.  It is worth it for your computer operating system to function well again, and most importantly, to keep your financial information secure.