techsupport customers pcguard Virgin Media

PCguard is a package of services designed to keep you safe and secure online. It includes Anti-Virus, Firewall, Anti-Spyware, Parental Control, Identity Theft Protection, Pop-Up Blocker and Privacy Manager, offering you protection from viruses, spyware, hacking, slow browsing and offensive pop-up ads.

Download should not take more than around 5 minutes if you have a Broadband connection. If it is taking a lot longer, this could be because you have lost your connection to the download server. Please try starting the download again if this happens.

A virus may prevent you from installing PCguard. In this case you may need to try running other virus removal tools such as Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool, which can clean a variety of viruses in circulation. For further information, visit the general virus information page on our website.

PCguard needs to connect to the Internet to download the latest Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware updates.

You must have administrator rights, and your computer must meet the system requirements. You should also ensure that your computer is not using any other anti-virus software, which may cause conflicts that could make your computer crash.

To activate PCguard correctly, you need to check the following:

If you attempt to install PCguard with another networking application open, you may experience a temporary loss of connection. We recommend that you close down all applications during installation.

If you have a firewall installed, please check to ensure it is allowing PCguard or RPS.exe access to the Internet so that it can activate. You may also need to check your computer's clock in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. It's possible that an incorrect date or time will invalidate the PCguard security certificate.

In the PCguard menu, select the "General" option, and then select "Password". Please note that you must know the existing password to change it.

If a password is used to lock PCguard, you must enter it in order to shut it down or make any changes to your preferences. This prevents against unauthorised changes to your settings. If the password is lost, it cannot be recovered. However, it can be deleted and a new password created. For instructions on how to do this, click here.

The PCguard install should not normally take more than a few minutes. The time it takes to install the program may vary depending on the configuration of your hardware and software. If it takes more than a few minutes, you should check that your computer meets the system requirements, and ensure that no other applications are running in the background that may be slowing down your computer.

This can occur if your Internet Explorer browser settings have been changed from their default settings. You may find that you need to visit Microsoft Update to ensure that you have all the up to date available patches. You should also check that your computer's system date is correct so that the PCguard installation certificates will be valid.

You need to have administrator rights to install PCguard on Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista computers.

You should log into each Windows account and configure the settings appropriate for that user profile. You can configure Parental Control, Privacy Manager and Pop-up Blocker for each Windows User Account. Settings for each account are maintained independently. This gives you the flexibility of having some options available in some Windows accounts while not in others.

To keep the computer secure at all times the Anti-virus, Anti-spyware, Firewall and the PCguard administrative password settings are the same across all Windows User Accounts.

Make sure your computer meets the system requirements, ideally the recommended rather than the specification. PCguard carries out many tests and scans on data going in and out of your computer, and the short time added in order to do this is worth it in order to keep your PC safe.

There are several ways to check that you are being protected by PCguard.

Yes. RPS is Radialpoint Security Services, who provide the software that runs PCguard. For PCguard to run properly, you need to allow RPS.exe or PCguard to communicate with the Internet in order to download updates, and keep virus definitions up to date. Alternatively, if you are not prompted, you may need to go directly into your firewall settings to allow PCguard to have Internet access.

If you have any of the following security packages, we strongly recommend that you disable the anti-virus application before you install PCguard, as running two anti-virus packages may cause your computer to slow down or crash:

For information on uninstalling or disabling anti-virus software, you should refer to the help screens in your existing security package.

If these packages have a firewall, they may ask you if you want to allow RPS.exe or PCguard to connect to the Internet. RPS is Radialpoint Security Services, who provide the software that runs PCguard. For PCguard to run properly, you need to allow RPS.exe or PCguard to communicate with the Internet.

We recommend that you do not use PCguard with any other anti-virus package on your computer. There is a particular problem with McAfee VirusScan 8.0 DAT version 4.0.4400 in that it detects the PCguard anti-virus driver css-dvp.sys as a virus. The file cannot be disinfected, so McAfee VirusScan will suggest to you to delete the file. If the file is deleted, PCguard Anti-virus will no longer function. If you update the McAfee DAT files, the latest version will not detect PCguard as a virus.

No. You can save PCguard to any location on your PC. However we advise saving it to your Desktop so it is easy to locate if you want to do scan your PC, or change any settings.

You should save the program to your Desktop when you initially download it from our website. This is the default location in the program. Once you have installed the software, you can move the file you downloaded to a folder where it's not clogging up the Desktop if you wish.



However, you should not move the PCguard program icon as you need this to open and configure PCguard.

There are two ways that you can remove the program from your computer. The recommended method is to use the “Add or Remove” feature in Windows.

Removing PCguard using Add or Remove in Windows XP or Windows Vista:


Removing PCguard using Add or Remove in Windows 2000:


Removing PCguard using Add or Remove in Windows 98SE or ME:

The alternative method is to use the uninstall option found by clicking Start > Programs > PCguard Security > Uninstall PCguard Security.

To install PCguard, you must use Internet Explorer.

Once installed, many of PCguard's features are independent of your browser, so PCguard Anti-virus will function normally whether you are using Netscape, Opera or Internet Explorer.

However, the Pop-up Blocker use technology that is specific to Internet Explorer, so they will only function if you use Internet Explorer as your browser.

The Ad Blocker will continue to block ads with all browsers, but the right-click option to add more ads to the Block Ads list will only work with Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is also required during the install process.

PCguard has been tested with the Netscape and other browsers and works fine. If you use Netscape Communicator (and Thunderbird) email software, you need to be aware that it stores all your email in one file. If PCguard finds a virus in that one email file, and cannot disinfect it, it will alert you as to the risk of deleting your entire inbox, and will advise you on what to do next.

This is a small program that manages the download and installation of PCguard, and it just helps us to make sure the installation of PCguard goes smoothly, and is as simple as possible for you.

New viruses are created every day, but when you're connected to the Internet, PCguard Anti-virus automatically checks for updates every few hours. As long as you keep this as the default mode, you will continue to be protected from new viruses. You should also enable real-time protection (enabled by default in PCguard) to minimise the risk of new infections. However it is still possible to pick up some viruses, as nothing can guarantee 100% protection from future threats.

This can occur if a worm is detected on your system. PCguard Anti-virus automatically detects and deletes worms, and any files on your computer that it cannot disinfect as part of its continuous scanning, ensuring that your computer is protected.

Yes. PCguard Anti-virus will scan incoming emails and email attachments for increased protection against viruses, worms and Trojans. If a virus is found, then information about the virus is added to the top of the message and all infected attachments are disinfected if possible, or deleted.

PCguard will automatically provide information on how to deal with the infected file. The infection may be in the System Restore files, which are more difficult to disinfect as they are protected by your operating system. It is sometimes necessary to disable the "System Restore" feature in Windows and run another scan. If you disable the System Restore feature, you should create a new restore point. For more information on System Restore, it is advisable to refer to the Help section of Windows or check with your PC vendor, as this is not something that Virgin Media can support.

Different anti-virus packages operate in different ways, and viruses may be identified differently from product to product. Some anti-virus software may detect and classify spyware programs as viruses. Also, you should always update your anti-virus software before you perform a scan, to ensure it has the most up to date information about the viruses in circulation.

PCguard recognises certain files as compressed or encrypted files and checks them during the scan of incoming email messages and attachments. Attachments that are not recognised will not be scanned, but will still be allowed through, and can be downloaded normally. During a system scan, compressed files will need to be unpacked to perform a scan on the contents. Some popular supported types of compressed files are: zip, .cab, .tar, .gz, .izh and .arj.

Encrypted files are password-protected, and will not be scanned by real-time scan or full system scan, but will be allowed to download as normal. If an infected attachment is downloaded without being scanned, the real-time protection and system scans will detect the infection once the file is decrypted, so that your computer is still protected.

Yes. Logs are kept of all your scans, including information on deleted or disinfected files.

Your anti-virus can "Scan Now" on your prompt, as well as continuously with real-time scanning. By default, the PCguard Anti-virus real-time virus protection is enabled. We strongly recommend that you do a complete scan of your computer with “Scan Now” at least once a week – check out helpful online tutorials for more information. PCguard Anti-virus is also accessible from Windows Explorer, by right-clicking the file or folder that you would like to scan.

When the real-time virus protection is selected, PCguard Anti-virus runs continuously in the background to monitor your system for viruses whenever your computer is on. When manual or scheduled scans occur, the PCguard Anti-virus icon displays in the bottom right corner of your screen.

Yes. In the PCguard Anti-virus preferences, you can schedule your updates to be automatic – daily or weekly - or manual.

If PCguard Anti-virus detects a virus in an incoming email attachment, it will prevent the attachment from opening. You will receive a warning, and PCguard Anti-virus will automatically disinfect the attachment or report on what to do next, if it could not successfully disinfect the file. We recommend that you perform a complete scan of your computer on demand, at least once a week.

PCguard Anti-virus does not scan outgoing mail - only incoming mail. However, there is very low risk of having email leave your computer with a virus, because as soon as you create an attachment with an infected file, PCguard will notify you that an infected file has been accessed.

Users will receive updates to the Anti-virus definition file, or virus database, as well updates to the Anti-virus program.

PCguard will connect to the PCguard servers and check for updates every 3 hours.

Yes. The Anti-virus and Anti-spyware programs are the only parts of PCguard that can be removed and reinstalled without removing or reinstalling the entire package. The Anti-virus engine can be found in C:> Program Files > Common Files > Command Software and is called avsdk.msi.

The time displayed is a rough estimate only. The time estimate gets more precise as the scan progresses. The time estimate may be longer than the actual time to scan when scanning large files.

No. You will not gain any additional protection. Furthermore, having two different anti-virus programs on the same computer can sometimes cause conflicts that could jeopardise the protective capabilities of both.

If the PCguard Anti-virus program fails, there are two possible fixes:

Fix 1:
1. Shut down PCguard by right-clicking on the PCguard icon in the taskbar, and selecting 'Shutdown'.
2. Click on the 'Start' button.
3. Select the 'Programs' menu option.
4. Select the 'PCguard' menu option.
5. Click on the 'Diagnostic Utility' icon.
6. Click on the 'OK' button when the dialogue box appears.
7. Select 'Perform all tests'.
8. Click 'OK' when test results are returned.
9. Click on the 'Register COM' button. .

Fix 2:
1. Click on this link to download the PCguard Anti-virus file:
avsdk4927.msi
2. Open the file by double-clicking on it, and select the 'Remove' option. This will remove all the files associated with the Anti-virus software.
3. If Windows asks to restart, click 'No'.
4. Run the 'avsdk4927.msi' file again by double-clicking on it. This should re-install the Anti-virus program.
5. Restart your PC.
6. Run PCguard Anti-virus. It should load properly now.

This problem can occur if you are running more than one anti-virus programme. Basically all files and data traffic on your computer are being monitored twice by the same PC resources. Disabling the other anti-virus programme should resolve this problem. We recommend that you only run one anti-virus program on your computer.

To uninstall any other Anti-virus software:

If Anti-virus updates aren't working, we recommend you try the following:

1. Check the Service Status page to see if there is any fault with the PCguard service.
2. Make sure that you are logged into Windows with Administrator privileges. For more on Administrator privileges, visit the Microsoft website.

What is spyware? Spyware is a small program that can sit on your PC and spy on your Internet activity without your knowledge.
Fraudsters use spyware to steal your personal data, so your privacy can be threatened. This information can then be sold or passed on to advertisers or other third parties.

Spyware can track the web pages that you visit and the files that you download, to create a profile of your Internet usage. Once installed, spyware can:

Anti-spyware can spot this and delete the malicious software.

Spyware gets onto your computer in a similar way to viruses. Very often, it is hidden in untrustworthy websites you visit, but also from your email attachments or file sharing software. This often happens without you knowing, unless you have anti-spyware installed.

Some peer-to-peer programs, such as Kazaa, need to have Adware installed to function.

PCguard Anti-spyware protects your privacy on the Internet by removing tracking software. It works similar to the PCguard Anti-virus by scanning the memory and drives on your computer. If spyware is found then it can be deleted and recorded in a log. For PCguard Anti-spyware to remain effective against spyware, the files used for scanning must be continuously updated.

A firewall and anti-virus do not protect your system from spyware. Spyware can bypass your firewall and anti-virus and stay hidden for long periods of time without your knowledge. Viruses cannot be removed by anti-spyware. To ensure a safe experience online, you need to have anti-virus, firewall and anti-spyware on your computer. Spyware does not usually contaminate and infect one machine after another as viruses do. Also, spyware does not try to damage your computer, though it may slow it down. Spyware is designed to gather information and send it on to fraudsters and hackers.

Every 3 hours or so, PCguard Anti-spyware checks to see if there is any new spyware in circulation on the Internet, and if there is, it updates its own list of threats, so that it recognises the very latest spyware and can protect against it.

PCguard Anti-spyware updates the spyware database according to the frequency you select. You can choose to update it automatically, daily, weekly or manually.
We recommend that you use the Automatic option, which will check for updates every 3 hours.

Yes. Selecting the drive will ensure that your hidden folders and files are scanned.

If PCguard Anti-spyware program fails, there are two possible fixes:

Fix 1:
1. Shut down PCguard by right-clicking on the PCguard icon in the taskbar, and selecting 'Shutdown'.
2. Click on the 'Start' button.
3. Select the 'Programs' menu option.
4. Select the 'PCguard' menu option.
5. Click on the 'Diagnostic Utility' icon.
6. Click on the 'OK' button at the warning prompt.
7. Click 'Next' to perform all tests. Tests will run automatically when clicking 'Next'.
8. Click 'Perform repairs' when test results are returned.
9. Click on the 'Register COM' option and click 'OK'. If there is no 'Register Com' button, use 'Reset all Settings' on front page.
10. Click on the 'Close' button when the dialogue box appears.
11. Click 'Cancel', and then choose to restart PCguard.

Fix 2:
1. Using the File – Search option, locate and run the following file on your PC:
ppsdkredistributables.msi
You will need to allow hidden files and folders to be searched by selecting this option in the advanced search options.
In PC Guard 6.0 the .msi files are at the following location: C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{791BCCA6-12B9-4472-9E04-C364D1246625}. 2. Choose the 'Remove' option. This will remove all the files associated with the Anti-virus software.
3. If Windows asks to restart, click 'No'.
4. Run the 'ppsdkredistributables.msi' file again, accepting the default location and choosing the ‘Everyone’ option. This will reinstall the Anti-spyware files.
5. Restart your PC.
6. Run PCguard Anti-spyware. It should now load properly.

This occurs when the Anti-spyware engine has detected that the spyware.dat file is corrupted. An error message 'The settings we were attempting to process are corrupted or unusable' is displayed, and Anti-spyware cannot start.

To restore Anti-spyware, you will need to delete the 'spyware.dat' file because this file is corrupted.

The file can be found in:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Virgin Broadband\PCguard\spyware.dat

PCguard Anti-spyware's default settings will automatically update your spyware database every three hours. With new spyware continuously being created there is a possibility that the new spyware is not recognised by your Anti-spyware database. However, this is a risk with all Anti-spyware programs.

If you suspect that you have spyware on your computer, we recommend that you manually update your spyware database and do a full scan of your PC.

Updating PCguard Anti-spyware database will not guarantee full protection from the increasing amount of spyware on the Internet. Freeware programs, i.e. programs free for everyone, especially file-sharing programs, are notorious for including spyware.

In some cases, PCguard Anti-spyware is unable to remove all files associated with a particular piece of spyware. We recommend that customers use a file-sharing program that does not include spyware.

Kazaa installs software on your computer than is classed as spyware by some security programs. If you don't want spyware on your computer, you have to uninstall Kazaa or add Kazaa to the trusted programs list. To move spyware to the trusted programs list:


The selected spyware will be moved to the trusted programs list and will be included in the next spyware scan.

If Anti-spyware updates aren't working, we recommend you try the following:

3. Check the Service Status page to see if there is any fault with the PCguard service.
4. Make sure that you are logged into Windows with Administrator privileges. For more on Administrator privileges, visit the Microsoft website.

Broadband leaves your PC vulnerable to hackers stealing your personal information and installing malicious software that can damage your PC. PCguard Firewall detects, records and prevents attempted intrusion by hackers, and prevents unauthorised programs from sending information to the Internet without your knowledge.

Identity theft is when someone steals personal information, such as your bank account details, to use your identity fraudulently. Computer viruses are very often connected to identity theft in that they can expose your computer to hackers who want to steal your information. To prevent identity theft, you should always use a firewall on your computer. PCguard Total includes Firewall.

No. The PCguard Firewall comes with a set of pre-defined rules. However, you can change them if you wish.

You can view the log of your connection activity by going to the View menu and selecting Event Console. With the Firewall active, you will see entries such as "PCguard Firewall allowing 'program x' to access xx.xxx.xx.xxx". This shows that your Firewall is protecting your network connections. It will also alert you when unauthorised connections to your computer have been blocked. If a connection is blocked, you will see the message “Firewall preventing ‘program x’ to access xx.xx.xx.xx port xx”.

The PCguard Firewall scans all network activity and either allows or blocks the connection. This protects you from outside attacks. A firewall is necessary to keep unauthorised data from entering or exiting your computer. Any computer connected to the Internet is vulnerable, but the best targets are those with high-speed, always-on connections, such as cable modems. It’s fairly simple for someone to find out if they can connect to your computer and then look for files to read or damage. High-speed connections are targeted because, being “always on”, they are the simplest to track down and, being high-speed, can be used to do most damage.

There are two ways to add an Internet Access Rule. One is when the application is trying to connect to the Internet for the first time. A dialog box will appear asking you to allow or block the Internet access for this particular program. If you click allow, the program is given permission to access the Internet and a rule is added to the firewall. The second option is to select Firewall from the PCguard side menu, click Internet Access Rules, and then click Add Program.

To restore your default settings, click Firewall in the PCguard side menu, click Preferences, and then click the Restore defaults button.

Yes. There is a log of all the blocked connections. You can view the log by selecting Firewall, and then View Log. To view previous logs, click Firewall, Preferences, and then Open Log Directory.

No. You will not gain any additional protection. Furthermore, the presence of two different firewall programs on the same computer can sometimes cause conflicts that could jeopardise the protective capabilities of both.

This could occur if you've instructed the Firewall to block this program from connecting to the Internet. You can change the program's rules by going into the 'Internet Access Rules' of the Firewall, and click the green checkmark next to the application.

If the application does not appear, you can simply run the application again and, when prompted by the Firewall, select 'Allow' instead of 'Block'.

The Internet should be a fun place where children can learn and enjoy themselves too. However, the Internet is also home to websites and content that are not suitable for children. The Internet carries a wealth of information that most of us eagerly want to explore, but at the same time there is some information that you may not want your child to access. PCguard Parental Control is a content filtering service to protect your child from accessing inappropriate sites. This service is not a substitute for parental supervision, but helps parents to control the type of content that is available to their child on the Internet.

When a child tries to visit a site, this request is compared to a database of millions of sites that are deemed inappropriate for children. If this site appears on the list, then it is blocked and cannot be viewed by your child.

There are more than 70 million sites identified as containing inappropriate content, so it is not feasible to download the list of controlled sites. However, you can still manually add specific sites to the blocked or allowed list to meet your family's needs. For example, some sites might be fine for older children and you can over-ride the list easily.

Yes, if a child tries to access a site that contains inappropriate content, a new Web page appears to indicate that the site is blocked by Parental Control. There is also a small icon that appears on your computer when the security services are running.

You can test Parental Control by trying to access a website that would be considered inappropriate content. Try accessing a site that is not inappropriate, but has words in its content that would seem to be automatically blocked—such as Super Bowl XXX. Parental Control will allow access to the Super Bowl site because it does not rely on word-based filtering but rather on an "intelligent" system capable of distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate content.

If a password is used to lock PCguard, you must enter it in order to shut it down or make any changes to your preferences. This prevents against unauthorised changes to your settings. If the password is lost, it cannot be recovered. However, it can be deleted and a new password created. For instructions on how to do this, click here.

You can create a 'Schedule Item' to allow children to use chat and game programs for limited time periods, after doing their homework for instance. This will override the Parental Control default settings for a limited time period. By default, Parental Control blocks inappropriate content and 'Restricted Programs' from connecting to the Internet.

When Parental Control is enabled, you must set a password. Only this password can be used to change the settings. When a child tries to change the settings, a window appears requesting the password.

No. Parental Control is a good first step in protecting your computer, but we recommend combining the PCguard Anti-virus to detect any viruses, and PCguard Firewall to prevent unwanted hacking or information theft.

If you are logged into your Windows XP or Vista computer as an administrator, and you configure PCguard Parental Control, these settings will not be reflected in the Limited User Account. You must be logged into the Limited User Account, and then configure PCguard Parental Control for these settings to take effect. PCguard provides you with the flexibility to configure different XP or Vista accounts separately to suit the needs of all your family.

Yes. There is a log that lists all the sites that were blocked by the Parental Control. You can view the log by selecting Parental Control, and then View Log.

No. Parental Control does not log attempts to use the programs on the ‘Restricted List’.

If Parental Control is enabled, when the process is terminated it will appear to shut down, but it will restart itself automatically.

Yes. If you disable the password, you will be informed that Parental Control is going to be disabled. This password must also be supplied to shut down the program.

The password can’t be recovered but can be reset. For instructions on how to do this, click here.

Sites that are not blocked by the default Parental Control list can be added to a local block list that you can maintain. Additions to this list can be made on the Parental Control Preferences page.

Sites that are blocked can be added to your “allow” list, so it is easy to over-ride Parental Control according to your needs. Additions to this list can be made on the Parental Control Preferences page.

No. Each profile maintains its own Parental Control settings. This allows parents to set different preferences for different children, based on their age for instance.

To enable PCguard Parental Control, you must set a password. Only this password can be used to change the settings. When someone tries to change the settings, they will be asked for this password.

Pop-ups are advertisements that appear as a separate window while you are surfing the Internet. Some people find these annoying, as they can appear often, and slow down a browsing session. PCguard Pop-up Blocker helps to eliminate these pop-ups so you can browse the Internet, hassle-free.

The Pop-up Blocker and the Ad Blocker both block ads. The Ad Blocker blocks ads that appear within the web pages you visit. This can include banners and side panel ads. The Pop-up Blocker blocks ads that pop-up or pop-under in their own separate window.

This could happen if the ad blocker is not enabled. It could also be because ad servers and web pages update their content regularly to avoid being blocked by ad blockers. If you use Internet Explorer, you can block an ad by right-clicking on the ad, and selecting Block Ad with PCguard. This will block the ad when you click on the ‘Refresh’ button on your browser.

To block all ads from a particular source or ad server, you can do the following:

1. In Internet Explorer, right-click the ad and select Properties.
2. Highlight and copy the Address (URL).
Note: Be careful not to enter the name of the site. For example, if you enter abcd.com, then this site will appear blank. You must enter abcd.com/adserver. Only enter known ad providers.
3. In PCguard, click Pop-up Blocker, and then click Preferences under enable Ad Blocker.
4. Click New, and paste the URL into the Domain field.
5. Type a brief description of the new site in the Description text area.
6. Click OK.

You need to shut down your browser before some changes and additions to the Ad Blocker take effect.

Cookies are files that websites sometimes place on your computer. Websites use these files to identify you when you return to the site. Cookies not only help sites to identify repeat visitors, but they also allow them to offer you a customised experience when you return to a particular site, for example remembering your personal preferences.

A tracking cookie is a cookie that is shared among two or more websites for the purpose of tracking your surfing. For example if you follow a sales lead from one website to make a purchase on another website, a tracking cookie can allow the retailer to work out how many users followed a particular ad to come to their website.

PCguard Privacy Manager gives you control over which cookies are allowed to stay on your PC. The Privacy Manager also includes options for you to decide to permit certain cookies to remain on your computer, by adding them to a “Trusted Web sites” list.

You have the option of adding the websites you use regularly to the “Trusted Web sites” list. This will ensure that the cookies from these websites can remain on your computer, so you do not have to enter your preferences or login every time you go back to them, while other cookies can be deleted to protect your privacy.

When the Identity Theft Protection service is on, the address of each website you visit is compared against a database of known fraudulent websites. If the address matches one in the online fraud database, or if the address is associated with a website that is known to be involved in scams, then the website is blocked and a warning message is displayed on screen.

You can override the warning if you are sure the website is OK and you think it's a mistake that the website is listed as fraudulent - this sends a report to us to check it out, but it doesn't happen very often. The database is updated constantly from multiple sources of fraud research and information.

You can override the warning if you are sure the website is OK and you think it's a mistake that the website is listed as fraudulent - this sends a report to us to check it out, but it doesn't happen very often. The database is updated constantly from multiple sources of fraud research and information.

PCguard is not compatible with some anti-spam clients such as SpamPal. You may have to switch off the PCguard "scan mail" option to receive your mail, and then scan it manually. To do this go to the Anti-virus preference in PCguard and untick the "Scan Incoming email messages and attachments (POP3)" box.

The PCguard scan can appear to freeze while scanning large files. It can take a long time to scan certain compressed files (often found in games), and PCguard may appear to stall while actually still scanning. It is a good idea to defragment your disk to help speed up PCguard. This will also benefit your PC in general. Instructions on how to do this can be found in your Windows help screens.

If PCguard finds a suspect file that is currently being used by the operating system, it may require you to reboot your computer before it can continue the scan. This is a feature of some viruses that can seriously damage your computer, and it is best to allow this reboot to clean the virus off your computer.

Password-protected files can't be scanned. However once the contents are extracted, real-time scanning, if enabled, will protect you from any viruses contained in these files.

You must allow MSN Messenger in the Ad Blocker, or else disable the Ad Blocker in PCguard to continue using MSN Messenger.

If PCguard stalls while scanning a file with a very long name, this could be due to the fact that it is scanning a corrupt file in your temporary directory, in which case you can try to remove this file by doing the following:

1. Double-click My Computer.
2. Right click on C: and click Properties.
3. Click the Disk Cleanup button.
4. Select the following entries in the list by ticking the box on the left:
Downloaded Program Files
Temporary Internet Files
Recycle Bin
Temporary Files
5. Once they are selected click OK and then Yes. This may take a while.

If this does not resolve the situation, you can try downloading a "file shredder" utility, for example at http://www.east-tec.com/eraser/download.htm, that can delete the TEMP folder and/or those specific corrupted files. Please note that the East-tec file shredder is a third-party software package, and is not supported by Virgin Media.

PCguard Anti-virus cannot delete or disinfect a virus in a Window Restore directory that is formatted as NTFS, due to restricted user privileges. This affects all user accounts, including the administrator. To remove this virus from the system files, you first have to manually change the settings to grant yourself the rights to access this folder, and then run the manual scan in the Anti-virus.

1. On the Start menu, click Control Panel, and then click System.
2. Click System Restore, and then select the Turn off System Restore check box.
3. Click OK.
4. In PCguard, click Anti-virus, and then Scan Now.
5. Click the Scan Now button.

For issues related to System Restore, it is advisable to refer to the Help section of Windows or check with your PC vendor, as this is not something that Virgin Media can support.

If you get an Error 1935, then an error occurred during the installation of assembly Mircosoft.MSXML2. You may need to apply the latest Microsoft service pack updates to fix this. Please consult the Microsoft Update website for more information. For issues related to Microsoft updates, you should refer to the Help section of Windows or check with your PC vendor, as this is not something that Virgin Media can support.

This error message shows up because there is not enough space on your computer's hard drive (70MB is required).

You should uninstall any unnecessary applications on your computer to free up space.

To make sure that no traces are left by applications you have deleted, you may require the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility available from Microsoft. This is in the event of failed installs leaving behind any entries in the system registry.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

For issues related to space on your PC’s hard drive, it is advisable to refer to the Help section of Windows, contact Microsoft technical support, or check with your PC vendor, as Virgin Media cannot support the use of this utility.

This error message appears because you do not have Microsoft networks installed on your computer. Microsoft suggests the following solution for this error. You will need to install the Client for Microsoft Networks.

For Windows 2000/XP/Vista:
1. Open the LAN Settings by clicking Start, point to Settings then choose Control Panel.
2. Click Network Connections then right click on your Local Area Connection and select Properties.
3. Click Install then make sure Client is selected and click Add.
4. Select Client for Microsoft Networks and click OK.
5. When the operation is completed, please reboot your computer.

Please note that the following fix would require you to disable System Restore and lose ALL previous restore points. System Restore is used to undo harmful changes to your computer and restore it to a previously stable state (the restore point) without causing you to lose recent work.

Disable System Restore.
Run virus scan or spyware scan and remove the virus or spyware.
Re-enable System Restore and set a restore point.

Please note that System Restore is part of Windows ME, Windows XP or Windows Vista, and but not part of PCguard. If you require further help with System Restore, it is advisable to refer to the Help section of Windows or check with your PC vendor, as this is not something that Virgin Media can support.

PCguard creates a proxy for email scanning. In order to receive email attachments via POP3, you must disable this. To disable this please follow these steps:

1. Open PCguard.
2. Click on the Anti-virus section.
3. Remove the tick next to 'Scan incoming email messages and attachments (POP3)'.
4. Click 'OK'.

This will disable the proxy but not the real-time scanning for viruses. If a virus is activated from an email, it will still be detected.

This might be due to the Firewall or Parental Control settings for blocked sites. Please check for the following:

• Check your Firewall settings to confirm that your Internet Explorer browser hasn't been blocked.


• Check your Parental Control settings to see if the website is listed as a blocked site.


• Check your Parental Control settings to ensure the scheduled access is not blocking all connections.


• Ensure you existing firewall is not preventing PCguard or rps.exe from accessing the Internet.

This could be due to problems with the Privacy Manager preventing the mail from being sent because it has contains information identified as private. If you are sure you want to send the email, then disable the privacy manager, send the mail and then re-enable the Privacy Manager.