Anti Virus & Computer Security.

Do you mean the one that has an arrow going counterclockwise over it ? To the left of the zoom level...

AVG is a fine anti-virus program that I used now and Microsoft is now offering a free anti-virus program that you might wish to look into.

Myself I layer my protections.

I strongly suggest adding the free version of a program by the name of "sandboxie" and running all programs that interact with the internet inside it. Any malware that get by your other protections will be removed from your system as soon as you clear the sandbox at the end of a browsing session. Also if you are not sure of any other program you might wish to try on your system you can at first install it and run it inside the sandbox.

I also am very very happy with a non-free program by the name of "Process Guard " that will not allow any program to run on your system until you clear it to do so and any program that had change because of an update for example or because of malware for that matter. It also block keyloggers hooks and offer protection to memory along with others protections not build into the OS until Window 7.

Sandboxie had the ability to do this, however if you do not run sandboxie I would also strongly suggest, if you are running XP or earlier OS, to used a Microsoft program by the name of "DROPMYRIGHTS" with any software that interact with the internet. This limit the ability of any program that had been successfully attack by malware to do changes on your system such as to the register.

Last note I would suggest you start to listen to a one hour weekly podcast by the name of Security Now to keep you inform on security threats.

definitly NO.
Do you have auto update for AVG? if so i suspect that an update may have changed the icon in system tray option. Your Anti virus is probably still working.

I'm not sure where the check box is located but probably in the tools or configuration menu.
If you want to test your Anti viruis go here and read then follow the instructions
http://www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htm
As a last resort you could google "AVG antivirus download" and reinstall AVG
If reinstall, select the option that allows for a system tray icon.
If you reinstall AVG dont forget to update it immediatly.

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One nice feature of AVG is if it had not been updated for a few days as in having the computer off or not connected to the net it will start complaining to you in a loud manner.

Hello Members,

Antivirus software products block malware from entering your computer system. When security software is unsuccessful at preventing attacks, it is then supposed to detect and remove the malware that gets through the defenses. If you begin to analyze all of the forms of malware and all of the potential entry points, it quickly becomes quite complicated and confusing. Antivirus software ought to protect you against malware infiltration whether it attempts to reach your computer via web browsing, email, instant messaging or removable storage devices. No security software is perfect, so when a threat successfully accesses your computer, your antivirus software has a second chance to protect you by detecting and disabling the invader.

Best Regards,
Tony Stevenson