I would suggest going with a well known free anti-virus if that's what you want. Like AVG FREE or Avast free. Many times unknown freebies are actually infected.

Check with your internet provider. Most have security packages for their customers, that you download for free.

I found several negative reviews on total AV including this about the free version

There is a free version of TotalAV, but the free version is only a basic scanner. It’s an OK tool for scanning and removing malware, but it doesn’t do anything else. I would never recommend anybody try to fully protect their machine with a free antivirus, especially not TotalAV’s free antivirus.

I also found several that had a hard time getting their money back and stopping them from taking money from their credit card after they had canceled their service.

There are definitely some good free AV products. AVG and AVAST are probably the top of the list.

Lol, I thought it was a new cereal trying to carve a new niche.

lol Lucille

I thought it was some kind of anti-viral medication.

Considering the state of the panic in the country, I thought you were talking about the CV19.

I use Avast free

Doesn't Windows have one built-in?

I use Bitdefender and Malwarebytes. I would never use one that's not easily recognized or popular, such as the one you're considering.

I also try to check where the company is located - eg, Kaspersky, although a great product, is Russian, and I decided to look elsewhere.

When I checked for best antiviruses Total Av was the top one. I installed it last night but I really don't know what I have yet.

I just uninstalled it

"When I checked for best antiviruses Total Av was the top one."

Nah, that's hard to believe. It's never been well regarded. Here's a review from almost 2 years ago from an independent and respected source - PCMag. It's given 2 stars out of 5, which is pretty poor.

When you see a rating or review of something on the internet, the old saying applies - you need to consider the source. And be skeptical, things are often not as they appear to be.

Review of Total AV

Must I remove the old antivirus as soon as I add the new one, or will it just go away when it ends? I put in avast today, but its not showing up in my apps

Nothing will "just go away" and sometimes having two security programs installed means neither is working correctly.

Your comment confuses me, you said you uninstalled it but then said "should I remove it". I would delete both and then reinstall Avast, if that's the one you've chosen to go forward with.

Did you check with your internet service provider to see if a better program is provided to customers for no charge?

My provider does not provide any antivirus anymore.