Using the Online Protection Dashboard

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Working With Norton™ Antispyware

Norton Antispyware is your leading defense against online identity theft. It can help you detect and remove potentially dangerous spyware, adware, and other unwanted programs. From the Online Protection Dashboard, you can see the current status of the Norton Antispyware application and perform several common actions, including running a spyware scan and checking for updates.

Your AT&T Yahoo! Online Protection installation includes one of two Norton Antispyware programs:

  • If you've installed Norton AntiVirus™, that program automatically scans your computer to protect you from spyware. You don't need to do anything special to run or update your Norton Antispyware protection.

    Note: Norton AntiVirus™ isn't available for computers running the Windows 98 operating system.

  • If you don't have Norton AntiVirus™ installed, the Norton Spyware Scan software provides your spyware protection. Norton Spyware Scan doesn't run automatically; it scans your computer for spyware only when you tell it to. How often you run this version of Norton Antispyware is up to you. We recommend that you run Norton Antispyware at least every two weeks to detect undesirable software on your computer, even more often if you frequently download files from the Internet.

    Every few weeks, AT&T Yahoo! updates the information that Norton Antispyware uses to detect spyware and other nuisance software. To be sure that Norton Antispyware always uses the most current information about possible security threats, update your Norton Antispyware software regularly.

The rest of this task describes working with the Norton Spyware Scan version of Norton Antispyware.

 

Here's How

  1. Launch the Online Protection Dashboard. (Remind me how.)

  2. Click the Norton Antispyware application to open its display.

    Click Norton Antispyware to open its display

    In the display you can see the last time an Norton Antispyware scan ran and whether it's time to run another scan.

  3. If the Online Protection Dashboard alerts you that it's time to run an Norton Antispyware scan, or if you want to run a scan yourself, click the Scan Now button.

    The Norton Antispyware display area expanded.

    The Norton Spyware Scan window opens. Scanning can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on the speed of your computer and the size of your hard disk.

    When the scan is complete, the Scan Complete window appears. This window displays information about all the items that Norton Antispyware identified during the scan, including a recommendation for how to handle each item. See the Using Norton™ Antispyware tutorial for information about your options for continuing from the Scan Complete window.

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What's Next

For more information about working with Norton Antispyware, including responding to scan results, see the Using Norton™ Antispyware tutorial.

Help Topics

 

Words to Know

  • Adware: software that opens pop-up or pop-under ads when the main product is not running, or shows windows that do not appear to be connected with the application or web page that you are viewing.
  • Scan: the process of checking files to see if they contain known viruses or other types of nuisance software.
  • Spyware: software, typically installed on your computer without your permission, that can track personal information, serve as an unauthorized entry point for a remote user, or transmit data to an external source.
  • Tracking cookie: a cookie that is used to track your web browsing behavior for the purpose of displaying targeted advertising. Tracking cookies do not pose a security threat.