Many of my clients get confused between the "Live Update" and "Weekly Scan" features of Norton Antivirus. Understanding the difference between these features is critical to keeping your computer free of virus infections.

"LIVE UPDATE" uses your internet connection to update the software so that it can recognize the newest viruses. This is an extremely important function of virus protection. Norton Antivirus has an auto-update feature built in, so many people feel they never have to do an update themselves. I have found the auto-update feature to be randomly unreliable, so I always advise my client to use the same conservative approach I use myself:

Open Norton Antivirus (there should be an icon on your desktop). Be sure you are connected to the internet. Click the LIVE UPDATE button and walk through the screen steps, clicking NEXT at most of the steps. You may be asked to restart the computer when finished. Do this twice a week. You will find that following this very conservative schedule makes your computer pretty darned bulletproof to virus invasion.

The "WEEKLY SCAN" typically auto-starts on Fridays at 8 pm. This feature SCANS your computer for viruses. While important, it is not critical. Again, if your computer is not up-to-date (Live Update), it cannot intercept current viruses, even though it is scanning.

One last thing: when your subscription expires, you will be asked to renew it online. My rule of thumb is to purchase a new version of this software every two years. I always purchase it from a store, not online. This is because your purchase online requires that you download the software, then install it. If, heaven forbid, anything ever happens to your computer and you have not backed up the software you downloaded, you cannot reinstall it. If you purchase through a store, you will (hopefully!) always have the CD.

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