Several of the major anti-virus software companies offer a free service allowing any user to scan their computer while connected to the Internet. The first group below will scan your computer and clean any virus infection(s) it finds. The second group, Symantec (Norton AntiVirus) and McAfee, will scan your computer and notify you of a problem but will not fix anything!

Each of these "on-line scanners" will require that you accept the download and installation of an ActiveX Control or other small program that does the actual scanning. You will probably have to be using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher with ActiveX and Scripting enabled.* (These are enabled by default on most computers.)

Please note that using one of these on-line scanners is a one-time event that does not offer your computer any lasting protection. The following essentials are imperative for continued protection of your computer:

1. You must have antivirus software installed.
2. Your anti-virus software must be running in the background.
3. Your antivirus software must be up-to-date. (Preferably it will do this automatically.)