Close Call

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I have a Dell, so are you saying that doesn't matter?

No, jsut saying it isn't rare for an OS to come with a prepackaged firewall and antivirus programs.

I also have a Dell, tis quite a good computer.

Especially now. I got a Dell for my birthday last year, which is in September.

I think you'll find that is until they very politely say:

"Your free period is over."
"We will now let in every virus under the sun, until you cough up your money for a subscription."
"We will try to make it as difficult as we can for you to remove our software."
"You might just as well give in now and pay up."
"We reserve the right to charge you whatever we like, whenever we like."

Coporate bastards...

I thought they would say that, and I thought my free period would expire in November. However, I was wrong so I didn't have to do anything!

Check what is happening.
You don't say which AV s/w you are using.
Some just quietly stop updating.
I've seen people who insist that they are protected, but when I've looked, their virus database is two years out of date.

I'm not understanding what you're saying.

When was teh last time your Antivirus program updated?

Most AV's are supposed to get automatic updates from the internet. The updates contain virus singatures that will allow the AV program to identify, isolate, and give advice on dealing with the latest viruses and other malicious programs. If you don't update regualrly, chances are a virus can live on your computer without ever being spotted, much less dealt with, by the anitvirus program.

I don't know when it was updated, but I can tell you that as of November of last year, my subscription to this program was supposed to expire. However, it didn't, so I didn't have to do anything!

Ah. But if it said it was going to expire, it probably did.
Nothing spectacular will have happened.
You will still be protected against all viruses that were around, up to last November.
New viruses come out on a daily basis.
If you are lucky, and careful, you won't get infected.
However, from the AVG site:

Latest Update
AVI 268.18.6/ 709
Added detection of new variant of I-Worm/Stration, I-Worm/Bagle
March 3, 2007

So that's two worms today. I haven't got any figures, but you can guess that since last November there have been well over a hundred new viruses, all of which can now cause you grief.

I'm very careful, but even I have been infected once. Entirely my own fault...

I copied an email attachment that I knew was probably a virus onto my desktop. I was going to take it apart to see how it worked (I do that sort of thing!). This one surprised me.

Within an instant of me dropping the attachment onto the desktop, AVG popped up a window, told me I had been attacked, neutralised it, and left me perfectly clean and safe. I hadn't realised that Microsoft will automatically execute parts of files that are merely present on the desktop. I won't make that mistake again. (And I'm not using MS these days, anyway, so I'm safe).

It was about the only time I've seen my AVG do anything. It doesn't give false warnings (which is what I suspect happened with the Matrix screensaver, at the start of this thread).

A lot of so-called anti-virus programs don't work. There are in fact very few that do! They give ridiculous false warnings all the time. One actually flags up HijackThis as malware... mad! Another I personally came across had conned someone out of paying $56 GBP for it (figure that out - US dollars or pounds sterling, it was really like that on her invoice). The entire function of that lying program was to extract money while making ludicrous false positive detection claims.

I don't think they would expire, but why would they remind me anyway?

If it said there was a subscription, at all, they probably would like your money.
If they would like your money, they won't let you continue with full use of the program, unless you pay.
The simplest way to stop giving you full use of the program is to suspend updates.
They would remind you somewhere that you haven't paid, and that updates are no longer happening, but someone may have (helpfully?) stopped the reminders.

If you are still unsure of what is going on, I suggest you get someone to have a look for you. I'd drop by to do it, just for expenses, but just the flight from London to Seattle costs about $800 and I don't suppose you want to pay that sort of money.

They didn't ask for my money.

What then? Your soul?

I don't know why.