TechMan got a popup on his screen the other day saying that AVG, the free antivirus program he uses, won't be supported in the current version after the end of the month.

From the popup it looks as though the new version 8.0.1 is not available free. But it is.

If you go to free.grisoft.com

Following the links will take you to CNet for the download so you can go directly there at http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html.

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If you're like me -- who could be? -- you may be intrigued by television commercials for an upcoming flick called "The Signal."

I'm intrigued in part because the commercials are ubiquitous. I can't seem to turn on IFC without seeing one. But I'm also intrigued because it uses a few quotes (and yes, they're ALWAYS taken out of context) that ramp up the anticipation by way of such phrases as: "The future of horror."

I'm long enough in the tooth to know hype is what it is -- an exaggeration. Still, there's a bit of footage that can't help but catch the eye. So, I' m ready for lights, camera and action.

Problem is, for all of those TV spots, "The Signal" doesn't even have an opening date set in Pittsburgh. In fact, go to imdb.com and you'll only find the word "limited" with regard to its February release.

Oh well. I'll, uh, signal you if I catch drift of a local screening.

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APRIL DVD: My guess is you missed "Seance," a 2006 release that earned a bit of buzz at a couple of film fests.

It has an interesting premise, and I quote: "A college student thinks her dorm room is being haunted by the ghost of a little girl. Though her roommates think she is crazy, they decide to hold a seance during the Thanksgiving break in an attempt to get rid of the troublesome spirit. What they don't realize is that their seance can't bring back a ghost that is already present. Instead, they invite in something much more terrifying -- the little girl's killer."

Ooooooo eeeeee ooooo. Watch for it April 22.

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I hate to admit this, but I have yet to see "Cloverfield." I will, and hopefully in the next few days. But I've been a little busy.

The nation's No. 1 film has been described as "The Blair Witch Project" meets "Godzilla," and our own Barbara Vancheri pretty much confirms it. In her review last Friday, she praised the film as "a monster movie for our time" en route to awarding it three stars.

So, I would have been in the theater had I not been ensconced in Stephen King's new novel, "Duma Key." But, for you other King lovers, it was time well spent.

I don't want to scoop by own review, which will run Sunday in the Post-Gazette's books section, but let's just say the horrormeister is in top form. It has all the elements -- spooky dolls, spooky monsters, spooky houses and, of course, spooky people,

Read it.

The 600 pages will send you -- and maybe your blood pressure -- soaring.

And if you wait for the movie ... well, you know the risks. King's track record of translating from page to screen is shaky at best

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DVD NOTES: If you like bats, you'll be pleased to know "Bats: Human Harvest" will fly into DVD outlets on March 11. Sequel to "Bats," this one features bats that are bio-engineered killing machines, bred for maximum flesh ripping. How lovely!

And a couple of weeks later, on March 24, watch for the release of "April Fool's Day," the story of fabulously wealthy young Desiree Cartier, who hosts parties in her southern mansion that are ... well, to-die-for.

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SHOCK THE VOTE: Call me delusional, but I tend to get as many shivers looking at the political landscape as I do horror movies.

And this is not to take a poke at Hillary, but are you as terrified of American "dynasties" as I am? Think about it: Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush, Bush ... Clinton?

It's like living under a 20-year bipolar dictatorship. That's a full generation -- or more -- of not two-party but rather two-family government.

I'm not telling you how to vote; I'm just telling you that's scary.

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Say what you will about Stephen King's book-a-minute pace, he still finds ways to make evil interesting.

I'm reading his new novel, "Duma Key," which won't be out until later in the month. I'll have a review in print and online.

But I mention King because I was late to the party for "I Am Legend," the Will Smith movie that's doing explosive business at the box-office. I've criticized some of King's work for the same rap I'm about to lay on "Legend": It's tediously derivative.

In King's case, it's almost as if he hits a streak every now and then where he feels compelled to crib from his own work. In the case of "Legend," it seems as if director Francis Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman are cribbing from the "28 Days/28 Weeks Later" franchise.

There are differences, to be sure, and certainly "Legend" is cinematically slick and features a fine performance from Smith. But a virus that afflicts humans is at the core of both films and makes them seem duplicative, regardless of the vampire/zombie subtext.

"Legend" would have benefited from a closer adherence to Richard Matheson's novel, not that it strays all that far. And it's superior to previous movie versions -- most notably "The Omega Man," with Charlton Heston.

But in the end, what might have been best is a longer gap between "28 Weeks Later" and "Legend."

Of course, what do I know? It's not as if Will Smith and crew are going bankrupt anytime soon.

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DVD PARADE, PART ONE: Speaking of the "28 Days/Weeks" franchise, director Danny Boyle (he did the first) has his sci-fi epic "Sunshine" in stores today on DVD. I'll have mini-reviews of that as well as George Ratliff's creepy "Joshua" in Thursday's Weekend Mag section (and online).

Early hint: B-o-r-i-n-g.

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PART TWO: The zombie horror flick "Automaton Transfusion" has been given a DVD release date of March 4. The plot synopsis goes like this: The United States Army began developing a procedure to bring back the dead with the purpose of having them fight instead of the living. The testing takes a horrific turn and an experimental town quickly becomes overtaken by zombies. Three desperate high school students decide to fight back in a battle for survival.

I'm there ...

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I just wrote a review of the special edition DVD of "Halloween" (for print). It's after 8 p.m. on an icy Monday. And I just listened to a bit of holiday music.

So naturally my thoughts turn to "Tales of the Crypt."

I loved the old EC Comics version of "Crypt." And I've never forgotten the issue that contained one of the creepiest stories to invade my childhood (though it was in a revised version, not an original).

Does anyone else remember the Santa Claus story? If you do, more than likely it's because that story wound up in a film version and an extremely memorable episode of the TV series, the latter directed by Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump"). The title was "And All Through the House."

But it's the comic book treatment I remember best -- how it was drawn, the terrifying irony, the black humor.

The plot involves a woman who has just killed her wealthy husband on Christmas Eve. She drags the body outside only to miss a radio broadcast about a homicidal maniac dressed as Santa Claus who escaped from a mental institution and has killed several women ... with an axe.

Eventually, she hears the reports and, to her horror, spots bad Santa outside. She realizes she can't call the police because of her husband's dead body. Instead, she tries to barricade herself inside her home.

Doesn't work. When her young daughter sees Santa lurking outside, she does what any child anticipating a delivery of toys would do: She opens the door.

The lesson in this is never trust a saint bearing gifts.

OK, OK -- that's not the lesson. You know the lesson.

And you also know how creepy little stories like that stay with you.

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I could blame work, home, the holidays ... you name it, but the bottom line is Awful Allan has been awfully absent from the blog scene. And I apologize.

But that's enough time in the wallow pit.

Instead, let's jump into the grave.

I love clever titles, and there's another zombie flick available on DVD that you might want to consider for the ol' collection. It's not new, having been released in 2005. But in the wake of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Fido," I didn't want you to miss it.

Titled "Boy Eats Girl" (hey, I said the grave, not the gutter!), it's about a young lad who bites the dust on the same night he tells his girlfriend he loves her.

The tagline is equally hilarious: "This zombie loves his girlfriend for her brains."

It stars David Leon (who?) as Nathan, brought back from the dead -- but not exactly back to life -- by his everlovin' mama.

"Boy Eats Girl" is good for some laughs, if nothing else. After all, it isn't easy for Nathan to control his appetite for his girlfriend, if you get my drift.

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One other quick note ...

A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from David Seidman, publicist at the graphic-novel publisher Papercutz. He wanted to call my attention -- and now yours -- to a "Tales of the Crypt" version of "American Idol."

Well, "version" isn't exactly the word.

Anyway, "Tales" has been revived as a comic book, and the issue with "A Murderin' Idol" should be out there in a comic store somewhere.

Mort Todd (writer) and Steve Mannion (artist) teamed up for the project.

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