AVG Free Software

I have been using AVG Free Anti-Virus software on my primary home computer for over a year now and have been thoroughly impressed. Lots of features (auto downloads of updates, scheduling feature to run your scans when you're sleeping, etc.) and they don't charge a dime. Of course they offer full featured products for a fee, but I haven't found the need to upgrade to them yet.

They also offer free spamware and rootkit prevention/removal software.

All of these free downloads can be found here.

By the way, since I have grown tired of one well-known commercial anti-virus program (never-ending annoying popups, confusing user interface, etc.) I recently removed it from both my wife's laptop and my parents' desktop and replaced it with AVG products.

By another way, I downloaded and installed this software on my family's machines using LogMeIn Free software that I reviewed here.

Fadmin Haiku #1

Unhappy fadmin
why do you question your fate?
Find joy in service

If you've seen my other blog, you know that I have a penchant for writing bad Haiku.

LogMeIn Free to the rescue

LogMeIn is one of the coolest tools I've found for helping other people with their computer problems. Instead of trying to talk to them over the phone and guide them through 20 rounds of "okay, now click on the START button, okay now go to CONTROL PANEL" LogMeIn let's you take control of their computer remotely, using a web browser. Their website is here. This is the Al Haig option for fadmins (see the section labeled "I'm in control here" to resolve any questions you have about my obscure historical reference).

The free version of LogMeIn (called, appropriately enough, LogMeIn Free) does everything I need for my simple fadmin duties but it lacks file transfer capability. There is a pro version that adds that functionality.

There are plenty of other products like this on the market - do you have once you like to use?