TECH NOTE: How to Update Your AntiVirus Software

When one talks about antivirus definition updates, one usually speaks in terms of Manual and Automatic updates. A manual update is performed by going to the antivirus vendor’s website, downloading the definitions, and then either installing them by running a program or just placing them in your antivirus software’s definition directory. Antivirus software that automatically updates would download new definitions automatically on a set schedule, once a day or once a week, for example. Most antivirus software is pretty straightforward when it comes to Automatic updating. They will almost always come preconfigured for automatic updates, so they are mostly “set and forget” sort of solutions.

This is no way to make money, however. Due to the nature of ever-evolving virus threats, virus definitions are outdated within days of their release, necessitating some sort of a constantly updating definition system. The major antivirus companies have turned antivirus protection from a software to a service. They do this by selling you “subscriptions” or “licenses” to use the software. This means that when your subscription is finished, you will stop getting updates. That is why it is so important to stay on top of your subscriptions and make sure they don’t run out.

As sort of a follow-up to last week’s post, I went around and compiled links to all the antivirus products I could find. From this comprehensive set of links, you should be able to find the updates to the program you run on your computer. Some of the products can only be updated from within the program itself, meaning that you can’t download the definitions manually. I’ve made a note of those that are only updated manually.

If I missed on that you would like me to find the update link for, then please let me know.

Anti Virus Updates

Name of Antivirus Product Update Link
avast! Professional Edition Click Here for the Update
AVG Anti-Virus Click Here for the Update
AVIRA AntiVir Personal Edition Click Here for the Update
BitDefender Professional Plus Click Here for the Update
Dr.Web for Windows Click Here for the Update
eScan Anti-Virus Click Here for the Update
ESET NOD32 Anti-Virus Only from within program*
Fortinet FortiClient Only from within program*
F-Prot for Windows Only from within program*
F-Secure Anti-Virus Click Here for the Update
G DATA AntiVirusKit (AVK) Only from within program*
Kaspersky Anti-Virus Click Here for the Update
McAfee VirusScan Click Here for the Update
Microsoft OneCare Only from within program*
Norman Virus Control Click Here for the Update
Symantec Norton Anti-Virus Click Here for the Update
TrustPort Antivirus Workstation Click Here for the Update

TECH NOTE: Is Your Antivirus Software Updating Properly?

You don’t know how sad it makes me to see things like this

Expired Norton Antivirus

This client’s copy of Norton Internet Security expired over a year ago, meaning that for a whole year it has been running with old virus definitions. Why are virus definitions important? Well, image that a virus definition is like a word definition in that it helps you identify the word/virus and what it does. Now imagine that you’re a foreign student traveling in America with a travel dictionary (our virus definitions) from the year 1654. Those word definitions (virus definitions) are terribly out of date, so there’s no chance that you’re going to be able to pick up new words (new viruses) like rollerblade and crunk. Granted, words like rollerblade and crunk may only hurt our feelings, but an undetected virus can do so much more damage!

Many modern PC makers will bundle trial versions of anti-virus products with a computer that will only last 90 days before expiring. This can be even worse than having no anti-virus at all because you might think that you are protected when you actually aren’t.

Please take a few minutes today to make sure that your anti-virus software is updated and running correctly.