I have Windows ME and Avast free home edition. Until recently, have always used Internet Explorer.
If I occasionally use Mozilla Firefox, do I have to download Avast on that browser also?
Thanks!
You can download avast using any browser you like, just save it to a location on your HDD, somewhere you can find it again. Don’t do a download and install in one action (available in IE I believe).
If you have another AV currently installed you will need to leave that there whilst you download avast, disconnect when the download it complete, uninstall the current AV and reboot. Now you can install avast.
If I occasionally use Mozilla Firefox, do I have to download Avast on that browser also?avast! protects you no matter which alternate browser you use. The application is[b] not[/b] browser dependent.
Welcome to the forums, richardlee. 
Avast, as well as most security programs, is not browser specific. This means these programs can be downloaded with almost any browser. The browser is only a means to find and download these programs on your computer’s hard drive. After that is done, the browser usage is basically not important to the function of these security programs. As an example, I have 3 browsers on my computer and have downloaded various security programs with all 3 over the years.
It is the OS of the computer that is important. With avast, most Windows OS’s are supported though some features are not available with older OS’s. This is also true of most security programs while there are some security programs that do not work with ME and older OS’s.
Often, if I am confused after reading printed information/manuals, etc., I can find help in a web forum.
Thanks to all three of you!!
No problem, glad I could help.
Welcome to the forums.
Just an extra comment - since it was not covered here.
Since you are using Windows Me avast will not provide any protection to any browser by default.
You will need to set up a proxy to work with avast in any browser you wish to use.
See this post for links to the tutorials for setting up the proxy configuration. The Firefox one is a little out of date but it should be close enough to get you going.
Note to alanrf: I used the tutorial you suggested. As you said, the Firefox one is a little out of date, but I managed — an accomplishment for a computer semi-illiterate like me! When I use Firefox now, the avast icon is revolving, so it seems to be working.
Again, thanks to all of you. Your explanations give me a better understanding of browsers, operating systems, etc.
You should actually check out the Webshield in avast!.
Richard, as one additional example of what everyone else already said … I constantly flip-flop / Weave In & Out between using AOL & Opera Browser at that Click of their respective Buttons on the Taskbar. No matter which of those 2 (AOL or Opera) I am using at any given second … avast! is on the job. And that is just ONE Copy of avast! for my computer, regardless of which Browser I’m using.
In other words, my computer has ONE Internet Connection at any given second that I’m Online. avast! is protecting that ONE Internet Connection regardless of whether I’m AOL-ing away or Opera-ing away ;D at any given time while connected. avast! doesn’t care which Browser is in the Driver’s Seat. So, you could say that AOL & Opera are the different Drivers and avast! is the Seat Belt. avast! is gonna protect the Driver no matter who it is. Hopefully that put it in perspective.
The comments about avast being browser agnostic are valid and all very well for users of the more current Windows systems (2000, XP Vista). This distinction needs to be made absolutely clear.
Such comments are completely untrue for the users of the Win9x operating systems (Win 95, 98, 98SE and Me) and, frankly, misleading to them. Users of these operating systems need to make modifications to each and every browser they use to ensure that it will work with the avast Webshield. Making this clear is even more important now when there are a quite a number of new users moving to avast with these older operating systems because their former AV no longer supports the older operating systems.
In hindsight, YES, you’re absolutely right, alanrf. With that in mind, I have a proposal. Since there are no doubt now MANY former AVG Users being forced to abandon ship and migrate over to avast!, here’s an idea that could help them out. This goes for any other New avast! Users no matter from which former AV they’re migrating.
Someone on these avast! Forums, whoever has the power to create those Sticky Topics that stay at the Top of the Forums … can create a Topic titled something like — For Migrating Former AVG Users New to avast! … or — For ALL New avast! Users. You can then post in there the links to those Step by Step Proxy Setting Videos, which DavidR had put up on another thread. You can elaborate any other pertinent Info that would faciliate ANY New Users’ Getting Up to Speed experience with avast!
You could put this Sticky Topic … New User avast! Orientation Post in the avast! Home / Pro Forum … the General Topics Forum … and the Viruses & Worms Forum. By the Sticky Topic Post always staying up at the Top, it would immediately capture the attention of New Users to avast!.
Well, that would be MY 2 Cents suggestion for the day.
Indeed it will be a good idea.
The pinned topic in the forum won’t be bad also.
See this post for setting up the proxy configuration in Opera.