Sapphires you might consider changing from Zonealarm in the near future because it no longer supports your Windows 98. This does not have the same urgency as changing your anti virus but should be done at some point. Comodo, linked below, is very similar to Zonealarm in that it pops up near the clock when looking for permission or denial. There are other free firewalls just as good of course. I use this on my main computer along with their anti virus. A word of caution though if you use the Comodo anti virus, for some reason Windows XP refuses to recognise it and tells me I am exposed. I am not, it is working just great. Here is a link that might be useful: Comodo firewall

actually AVG 8.5 is the latest version out, there were some early reports on some of the other forums I am on of problems, I know they were working on them. So if you do get AVG make sure you get the latest version avg 8.5.278 released I no longer use AVG just had too many problems when the went to 8. They decided to compile several tools into one with 8 rather than just leaving it the good stand alone AV product it was and that was the mistake. They had a great AV and a great product in Ewido and trying to combine it all together with some other items just conflicted with too many systems. I now use AVAST free and love it. you will want to read these AVG FAQ sheets prior to install to find out how to do it with out the link scanner and things that are causing problems. FAQ As with most things pc related it might work just great for some but really cause others a very bad day, I personally just can not discount the number of people who did have some bad days. Over on BBR/DSLR on the security forum there are some excellent threads about AVG 8 you can search for.

yes the AVG8 beta sp1 update was just recently released to help fix some of the problems with AVG8. They are suggesting the update. Also following these directions from their faq is helping. How to disable the AVG add-on in my Internet Browser? AVG 8.0 Free Edition contains a plugin for scanning of search results in Google, Yahoo and MSN search engines. This plugin (AVG SafeSearch) is designed for MS Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox Internet browsers. If you would like to disable it kindly proceed as follows: 1. Internet Explorer: * Run Internet Explorer. * Choose the Internet Options from the Tools menu. * Switch on the Programs tab. * Click on the Manage add-ons button. * Select the AVG Safe Search add-on. * Tick in the Disable option at the bottom of this window. * Confirm changes by clicking on the OK button. * Close Internet Explorer and run it again. 2. Mozilla Firefox: * Run Mozilla Firefox. * Choose the Add-ons option from the Tools menu. * Select the AVG Safe Search add-on and click on the Disable button. * Close Mozilla Firefox and run it again. Note: AVG add-ons cannot be used with Mozilla Firefox 3 (beta) at the moment. Was this FAQ helpful to you? : 1338: How to install AVG without LinkScanner If you wish to install AVG 8.0 Free Edition without the LinkScanner component, or uninstall this component from your program, please proceed as follows: * Download the AVG 8.0 Free Edition installation package from our website. * Run the installation with the parameters /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSurf /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSearch. One way to achieve this is to: o save the AVG Free installation file directly to disk C:\ o open menu Start -> Run o type c:\avg_free_stf_*.exe /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSurf /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSearch * The installation will be started, and AVG will be installed without the LinkScanner component. http://free.grisoft.com/ww.faq.num-1241#faq_1241 Here is a link that might be useful: AVG8 update info

Chandler, it is essential to run the dedicated removal tool from Norton for the version of Norton that was on the pc, what is happening is that there are essentially 2 antivirus programs on the pc that is a no no they can cause serious conflicts and problems. Anyone that got a pc that had any type of trial or free antivirus program on it then decides to go with another brand must search for the specific removal tool for that AV and use it or use a tool like REVO uninstaller to search for it and remove all aspects of it. Antivirus Product Removal Tools Corrine posted many of them on her blog Revo Uninstaller 1.90 Revo Uninstaller you want to be sure you get the freeware version where ever you get it from. my question to leslie is did you follow those methods when you removed your Norton from your pc? if not remnants could now be coming back to haunt you. Always run the tool they provide to uninstall it.