Can I Buy Antivirus Programs Online?

.Dear Computer Lady,

I had a Dell rep tell my daughter that McAfee bought on line are just viruses.

Is this true, as I also have McAfee on my computer.

I have read your news letter for along time and trust your advice.

Thanks, Carol

Dear Carol,

No, this is not true, however, if you are not careful, any software that you purchase online could be carrying viruses.

Let me explain.

If you go directly to McAfee’s official website at www.mcafee.com then you can be sure you are getting their real antivirus program, with no added junk.

However, if you go to your favorite search engine and search for McAfee, you will get a lot of results, click on any one of them, and you will most likely be taken to a site that is pretending to be McAfee, or support for McAfee. These are not the real thing, just scammers pretending to be so that they can get your credit card information.

The same is true for computer companies like Dell. If you go directly to their website, www.dell.com you will be getting information from Dell, however if you go to your favorite search engine and search for Dell, you will get a lot of results that are just scammers pretending to represent the company so they can get to your money.

Elizabeth

 

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Elizabeth Boston is a Web designer, Social Media Consultant and managing editor of, “Ask The Computer Lady”.
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