opportunity to celebrate the difference we make in our communities .

We concluded the celebrations with a gala on the first night of the AGM . As well as being feasted and entertained , it gave us the opportunity to acknowledge the ‘ human ’ dimension of our organization . ARTA thrives today because of the vision and dedication of past leaders and representatives , and it was a pleasure to recognize them .

The AGM also saw the passing of the torch . We made presentations to , and had the opportunity to thank , departing committee chairs and branch presidents for their contribution and leadership over the past years . What followed were strongly contested elections for open committee membership positions . Special thanks to Marlene Reddikopp , Juanita Knight and Paul Demers who will continue their roles as ARTA officers . ARTA has been and will continue to be well served .

The road ahead … We will respond to and meet the challenges that come out of changes to the seniors pharmaceutical plan . We will examine and amend our current configuration to better utilize our resources as well as reflect priorities of the organization . We will continue to anticipate and be relevant to the needs of our membership . ARTA will be an articulate leader in addressing issues along with the needs of seniors and retirees .

Thanks for your support . I look forward to continuing to serve in 2013 / 14 .

Antivirus software provides an essential layer of protection from a multitude of virus , trojan , worm , spyware and adware infections . There are a number of good , free virus protection programs that anyone can make use of just by going to a trusted website and downloading them .

The ones listed below seem to do the job well , so choice comes down to a matter of personal preference . I have used AVG for years , and have never been disappointed with it . The makers introduce you to their free version , let you use it for a year , and then ask you to buy the enhanced version .

McAfee seems to be everywhere these days , attempting to have you to install their product for free . I have not had much experience with the program , since I only used it for a few weeks before I moved to the Microsoft program .

Microsoft Security Essentials is the application that I currently use , and I have been very satisfied with it . I have installed it on my Windows 7 laptop , my Windows XP laptop and our Windows XP Desktop computer . It was easy to install and has kept our computers virus-free .

There are many antivirus programs available on the Internet , and they all provide the protection that you need . It appears to be up to the individual to decide which one is best for them .

Although I have not discussed programs that are designed to protect Apple computers , there are versions designed specifically for them . While Apple malware is rare , it is not unknown , so Mac users might want to research what is available .

Sources of Anti-virus Software for Windows Computers

AVG Free Antivirus

McAfee Antivirus Plus

Microsoft Security Essentials

Avast Free Antivirus

Panda Cloud Antivirus http :// free . avg . com / ca-en / homepage home . mcafee . com / AntiVirus

http :// windows . microsoft . com / en-CA / windows / security-essentials-download

http :// www . avast . com / en-ca / index

http :// www . cloudantivirus . com / en /#!/ free-antivirus-download

6 Winter 2013