I have an HP Laptop running Windows11 with Microsoft's embedded Anti-Virus Protection, HP provided McAfee anti-virus as well as my preferred choice of anti-virus defense, ZoneAlarm (ZA). I realize in hindsight that having three anti-virus programs is heresy. Nonetheless, I was advised to upgrade my ZA when I encountered a problem with its anti-phishing program that prevented me from entering data on a secure website.
The ZA tech directed me to uninstall the current ZA then run a Cleanup utility (ZangClean) on the laptop prior to installing the NextGen upgrade. I managed to run the Cleanup Utility before uninstalling ZA on the laptop. I restarted the laptop during the cleanup utility process. I then tried to uninstall the existing ZA but was foiled by a Windows warning that the program could not be found. I then tried to install the ZA upgrade - thinking this would allow for a complete uninstall and then I could reload the upgrade - the download failed.
I tried another reboot and lost internet connectivity. I contacted my family's IT support who reminded me of the dangers of entering credit card data on a Windows system. The IT support directed me to use system restore then run an offline scan using Microsoft's Anti-Virus Defender. I was able to re-establish internet connectivity. I was not satisfied. I purchased the upgrade to NextGen for ZA and attempted to run the upgrade, hoping it would uninstall the prior ZA version.
The upgrade failed so I restarted. I was knocked off the internet for a second time with the system no longer recognizing the WiFi or any nearby networks. I ran a second system restore (neither the first or second system restore completed successfully according to the pop-up warning message yet desired results were obtained) which consumed twelve hours. I then ran an offline scan.
Finally, I started uninstalling McAfee. Then I tried uninstalling ZA. After about four hours with no results, I sought out ZA tech support using my iPhone. After about two hours of tech support with a patient representative, all prior versions of ZA were deleted using a REVO uninstaller as well as an IOBIT unlocker (to delete a ZA folder on the hard drive that was blocked from removal) with multiple reboots including one which kicked me off the internet again (I was advised to run a separate Clean utility which restored the internet connection).
Somehow during one of the uninstall processes, McAfee reappeared. I did share logs with the ZA rep using a drag and drop to Drop Box prior to running the full ZangClean utility. Otherwise, I do have the most up-to-date version of ZA. I will try to use the Chromebook for secure transactions. I still rely on Windows for my job search. I hope TSG will help me avoid these pitfalls in the future.
The ZA tech directed me to uninstall the current ZA then run a Cleanup utility (ZangClean) on the laptop prior to installing the NextGen upgrade. I managed to run the Cleanup Utility before uninstalling ZA on the laptop. I restarted the laptop during the cleanup utility process. I then tried to uninstall the existing ZA but was foiled by a Windows warning that the program could not be found. I then tried to install the ZA upgrade - thinking this would allow for a complete uninstall and then I could reload the upgrade - the download failed.
I tried another reboot and lost internet connectivity. I contacted my family's IT support who reminded me of the dangers of entering credit card data on a Windows system. The IT support directed me to use system restore then run an offline scan using Microsoft's Anti-Virus Defender. I was able to re-establish internet connectivity. I was not satisfied. I purchased the upgrade to NextGen for ZA and attempted to run the upgrade, hoping it would uninstall the prior ZA version.
The upgrade failed so I restarted. I was knocked off the internet for a second time with the system no longer recognizing the WiFi or any nearby networks. I ran a second system restore (neither the first or second system restore completed successfully according to the pop-up warning message yet desired results were obtained) which consumed twelve hours. I then ran an offline scan.
Finally, I started uninstalling McAfee. Then I tried uninstalling ZA. After about four hours with no results, I sought out ZA tech support using my iPhone. After about two hours of tech support with a patient representative, all prior versions of ZA were deleted using a REVO uninstaller as well as an IOBIT unlocker (to delete a ZA folder on the hard drive that was blocked from removal) with multiple reboots including one which kicked me off the internet again (I was advised to run a separate Clean utility which restored the internet connection).
Somehow during one of the uninstall processes, McAfee reappeared. I did share logs with the ZA rep using a drag and drop to Drop Box prior to running the full ZangClean utility. Otherwise, I do have the most up-to-date version of ZA. I will try to use the Chromebook for secure transactions. I still rely on Windows for my job search. I hope TSG will help me avoid these pitfalls in the future.
