Is your antivirus product up to date? It is important to find out the last time it was updated.

Also what OS are you running? If it is Vista then you have Defender built in and you might want to see what it says about your malware situation. If it is XP then I would suggest you get Defender as a starting point to avoid malware in the future.

SoldierHawk wrote:

GP, quick question on what you said: I wasn't under the impression that Windows Defender was much good (based on reading some tech blogs). Is this incorrect?

As far as catching Malware, it isn't as good as Spybot or Adaware. It is however made by Microsoft and therefore plays nicer with Windows than any other Malware utility.

There is always a balance between security and functionality. You need both, but where is the line drawn? Personally I think that a person who runs a hardware firewall, a software firewall, antivirus, and some malware utility should be fine if they aren't doing stupid things. Within a year Microsoft will be releasing their own Antivirus and the last three of those items will be free from the people who make your OS. That is how it should have always been.