Sunday, January 14, 2018

installation - How can I safely switch to other Anti Virus software?



So, say I've been wanting to install other Anti Virus software on my computer (or install a newer version of my current software). Since in between installing, the computer is probably vulnerable to already active viruses, hackers, etc. I have the following question:



I'd do the following, but I was wondering if there is a safer way to do so and what could happen in the meantime? Am I over reacting/being paranoid? Is there a real threat?




  1. Download new Anti Virus software installer

  2. Terminate internet connection


  3. Uninstall old software

  4. Probably reboot

  5. Install new software

  6. Re-instate internet connection.


Answer



Your process is basically sound. I would add this....Many AV products provide a bootable disk or ISO that can be used to scan before any malware can load. Symantec/Norton has this and I am sure others do as well. You can add the latest signatures/definitions with a USB drive. I would get the new AV and make the bootable disk and scan the system. This will likley clear up any rootkits and other malware that may be present. Leaving it off the Interent, install the new AV and then reconnect to get latest updates


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