Changing anti-virus software on an infected machine

[staygold]

My brother has a computer that has a bunch of adware/spyware, a trojan, and maybe some more stuff (I haven't done a scan yet) on his computer with expired anti-virus software on it. Now he has purchased a cd for a new anti-virus program, but I'm not sure how to go about getting it on his computer because when we try to install it, a dialog box pops up saying that we need to remove the other anti-virus software first. I'm wondering if I uninstall the current anti-virus software if that will suddenly let a bunch of viruses run free on his computer and trash it before I can install the new software. If anyone could help me out and recommend what would be the best thing to do in this situation it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[T-Man]

Unplug your internet then uninstall the old anti-virus and then install the new anti-virus and then plug your internet in and go online and get the latest updates for the new anti-virus.

 

[blackjack]

You shouldn't have any problem uninstalling the old AV, it make ask you to use the installation disc to get rid of it, then put the new one on, run the scan first then update it, if your still worried, run the AV in safe mode.

 

[staygold]

Thanks for your help! Everything seems to have worked out nicely

 

[shadygirl420]

Best thing to do in my opinion is to do a fresh install.

 

[waldorfpc]

I se that you have all help out wonderfully. However, I wanted to contribute some more information. Avast is a wonderful anti virus program. It not only removes viruses but worms and trogens. Not to mention, it's free. I have it on my computer, and it does a fine job. It can be found at www.avast.com

You should also consider installing anti spyware programs. one I'd suggest and that I also use is Super Anti Spyware. It's free and can be found at http://www.superantispyware.com/ I thought I'd bring that up to you since you stated there were spyware and malware on your system.