Why do some programs say to "disable anti-virus" before installing, and should I turn it on again after?

Actually, most programs that create installations include that warning on their page templates. 9 times out of 10 it can be ignored. I use two different installation packages and have for years. Both had the warning but neither I nor my customers ever noticed it. Someone finally did and, since it wasn't necessary, I removed it.

Same situtation when installers tell you close close other programs before continuing. The vast majority of the time it is completely unnecessary.

It doesn't take all that long to temporarily disable the AV, AS and firewall. I've personally experienced corrupted installs because of my AV or firewall. Guess I'm always the 10th person or not a part of the vast majority.

I've been in the group that ignores the warnings to disable AV and AS. However, we do have a totally nonfunctional (and as it turns out non-removable) version of Adobe reader, and I wonder if it's the dreaded "something that looks like a "successful" install that doesn't really work."

What bugs the hell out of me is that I,m always hearing that it only takes seconds to have your computer infected because you don,t have anti-virus stuff set up. If you disable your anti-virus are you not looking for problems?

Jeanne - If you have Adobe Reader 8.x you might want to look through this Adobe KB article and the manual steps to uninstall:
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb400769&sliceId=1

Brian - As I understand things, when you're randomly surfing the net or visiting unknown sites, your risks for malware increase tremendously. But if you're downloading from a known site or installing something from a disk, it's pretty safe to temporarily disable your AV, firewall, etc. I also seem to recall reading that downloads should first be saved to the desktop, then run an AV scan, and finally, if the scan is clean to install the program to hard drive.

Please don't disable your A/V software, anti-spyware and firewall unless you have disconnected your computer from the internet first! It may only take seconds for a 'bot to discover an unprotected machine and compromise it - and you'd never know.

I experienced major problems with Norton Anti Virus that came with my laptop by default and had an extrememly hard time getting it off my pc... I couldn't even connect to our network because of it. Couldn't install certain programs... I got to a point where I couldn't browse the net, but still be able to chat on Skype. Someone in our IT department told me that Norton is a virus in itself. Luckily my friend helped me to find an uninstall tool to get it off my system and I have now resorted to AVG which proves to be more stable. (I'm running Vista.)

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"Seconds to infection" typically applies more towards your
firewall, and specifically on an unpatched machine. That
means that if your machine is NOT up-to-date on Windows
patches, AND you are not behind a firewall, your machine
will be infected in seconds. Even if you are up-to-date new
threats are always arriving, and a firewall will block any
that are network-accessed based.

It is typically quite safe to disable your anti-virus for
the duration of an installation, as long as a) you don't do
something else during the install (like surf the net,
download files, and so on), and b) you turn it back on when
the installation is done.

Leo

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U can't disconnect from the internet if U R downloading from a provider's internet page. If U R putting it onto your desktop, aren't U already at risk?

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