Anti Virus Scams?
 

A short while ago my laptop died and I was issued a new one by my employer. It may be a re-issue as it still has Windows 7.

After a few days Explorer kept freezing so I changed to Firefox which seems to keep going most of the time but the pop ups and adverts were driving me crazy. I installed the freeby versions of an Ad blocker and anti virus programs and they mostly keep the stuff at bay.

However unlike the old days these are now "Month trial" freebies and of course I am getting five times a day warnings that I should "Renew" for a fee. I don't have a problem paying a fee for a decent program, in fact if it is necessary my employer will probably cover the cost.

What is bothering me is that the anti virus program is telling me two or three times a day that is has "blocked" or "saved" me from a virus and this goes on even during the two days we didn't have internet!

Am I being scammed?

I humbly suggest you take it back! At the very least, get their people to thoroughly check it over. What antivirus does it have, and is it configured to update the definitions automatically? Have you set it to carry out a full scan? If it's giving warnings even with no internet access it sounds as if it's already infected with something.

Sounds like you installed a fake AV program. But there should have already been one there if it's a computer issued by an employer with a clue.

It's equally possible you installed the trial version (ie: pay-for) of a free version.
Most of the freebies - Avast, AVG, Panda, Avira - also have a pay-for version with a trial usage period.