How to Configure Antivirus for Gmail

Scan your Gmail emails to protect your PC from viruses and spyware.

Google Mail, also known as Gmail, is a widely-used free webmail service for online users. With time, Gmail significantly increased mail storage space for its users. With that, Google also offers virus protection. Gmail automatically scans every email and attachment when it's delivered to you to make sure its free of virus or other malwares. To be on the safer side, you may choose to configure an external antivirus program with all the incoming messages you receive via Gmail.

Things You'll Need

• Antivirus program

Instructions

1. Download an antivirus program. AVG, Avast and Avira all offer free downloads with an email scanner (see Resources).

2. Make sure the antivirus program displays a "quick-launch" icon on the system tray. It should be located next to the clock on the bottom-right corner. This ensures that your antivirus program is active while you are browsing the web and in this case, while opening emails and attachments on Gmail. If you don't see an icon on the system tray, go to Step 3.

3. Launch the antivirus program. Click on the tab that says either "Tools" or "Advanced Settings" or simply "Settings" depending on the program you chose to download in Step 1. Next, look for "Tray Notifications" settings and put a check mark next to "Display System Tray notifications."

4. Navigate to the home screen of your antivirus program. The home screen is the first thing you should see when you launch the antivirus program. The home screen should display all the components that are active within your antivirus program. Look for "Email scanner" or something similar to that (depending on the program). Make sure the status has a green check mark or says "Active." Click on the mail icon to enable the email scanner if needed.

References

• Google: About anti-virus scanning

Resources

• Avira Free Anti-Virus
• AVG Free Anti-Virus
• Avast! Free Anti-Virus