My Symantec Norton Antivirus subscription has expired and I wish to replace this software with AVG Antivirus Free. Do I just need to remove Norton and then install AVG? The computer is running Windows XP.

You are correct that you will first need to uninstall Norton Antivirus before loading AVG Antivirus. However, it is essential that you remove Norton Antivirus using the uninstall utility, as opposed to simply deleting the program’s directory, otherwise it will not be removed correctly and will leave remnants of the program behind (possibly preventing the successful installation of AVG). To uninstall Norton Antivirus, go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Control Panel’. In the Control Panel open the ‘Add or Remove Programs’ control panel. Find the entry for Norton Antivirus and then click the ‘Remove’ button. Once Norton Antivirus has been removed, restart the computer. You may have also noticed there are other Symantec utilities present in the Add or Remove Programs list (e.g. Symantec LiveReg). If you do not have any other Symantec/Norton products installed on your computer then it might be worthwhile removing these other Symantec utilities, since they are related to Norton Antivirus (and we wish to uninstall all components of Norton Antivirus). However, if you do have other Symantec software on the computer then you should not uninstall these other Symantec utilities since they are likely being used by the other Symantec/Norton software on the computer.

Occasionally, Norton Antivirus does not want to cooperate and will not uninstall correctly. In such situations, Symantec offer a utility called the Norton Removal Tool (service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039). This will remove all Norton products from the computer. Be very careful using this utility, as it will remove all Norton products (e.g. Norton Internet Security, Norton SystemWorks) and not only Norton Antivirus. If you don’t have any other Norton products on your computer then this should not be a problem. However, if you do have other Norton products then you should make sure that you have the original CDs handy so they can be reinstalled once this utility has removed the software. To use the Norton Removal Tool follow the instructions on the Symantec website provided above.

Once Norton Antivirus has been removed from the computer, visit free.grisoft.com to download AVG Antivirus Free. Once downloaded, install AVG on the computer and you should be good to go.