who the heck are all these new people and some of the things suggested here are not the ones you want please be careful we have had some trolls here lately trying to sell their junk. You can not run 2 antivirus programs at the same time if they are both running full time it will cause a conflict that is very well known and documented and will be told to you at any of the support forums you go to so you need to fully remove Norton since you now have AVG. go here and use app remove and the norton removal tool from the security garden link Antivirus Product Removal Tools Using AppRemover it is free spybot search and destroy was at one time very good but today there are some that are much preferred so I suggest replacing spybot and adaware with these free products, update them each time you use them and scan weekly with full scan. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (Win) - Detecting and Removing Malware SUPERAntiSpyware.com : Remove Malware : Remove Spyware - AntiMalware, AntiSpyware, AntiAdware! get the free version and add WOT to your browser to help protect you from bad websites also add sypwareblaster update it weekly hit enable all protection to turn shield green, no scans to do. SpywareBlaster WOT use a good firewall as recommended like zonealarm free

Luis I believe every safety program by the reputable vendors is safe and good. Have you really thought about those differences? For example I kill ants and centipedes indoors but not spiders, many kill spiders too. Who is right or wrong there? Just a different perspective on things. The real bad guys are taken care of by everyone, those lesser are measured by different standards in different safety programs. All the programs presumably know the bad guys and protect us from them but the difference comes in how those 'nuisance' type things are assessed. Some remove them others spend more time with the real threats. A few years ago the computer security firms declared that the bad guys are winning. They cannot create a fix for a virus not get designed anymore than we can clean up a spill on the kitchen floor that has not happened. I also believe all the security companies work together to identify threats and help keep us safe. With the volume of nasties created they can do nothing less. Over the years I have tried almost all free anti virus and malware programs, changing not because of discontent but just willing to try what the other guy has to offer. I use Microsoft Security Essentials only now. It is fully automatic which is nice and I only need the one program. Others find the need to add layer, again that is a personal opinion for all of us. MSE has been out about 2.5 years and I have had it since day one and never had an issue, I have confidence that will continue.

I read this forum quite regularly, but rarely post here...But sometimes.... I just gotta say it..... You people are nuts...... I am quite used to people telling me I am nuts and have no idea what I am talking about when it comes to such matters, BUT since I am never, make that NEVER the one who has neither virus/malware issues and problems and NEVER have spent even a dime nor any time on such matters, the reality of the situation is that I and the few other Linux users here are really the only ones who have any idea what they are talking about when it comes to PC Operating Systems and PC "security".... A whole forum of "what should I get","what's wrong" "I bought/installed and/but" "what should I do". Soon many reading this will be thinking "Oh he's just one of those Linux nutscases" But, ask yourself, does he "Buy this", "get this", "do this"......Oh yeah, and then ask yourself if your system can match mine on safety, security, performance. I have yet to have either of these boxes contract a virus or a worm or a root-kit nor any other form of malware, not bad for systems running zero AV/security software..... I very rarely ever disconnect from the W3 and rarely ever even turn either of these things off. I have 4 browsers running right now and my email account has been open for days. Other than an outgoing firewall, I am currently running absolutely zero "security" software of any kind. And no reformatting, no scans, no defrags, no registry anythings. I watch videos, play music, redo photo's, make phone calls and do all sorts of other sometimes fun stuff with neither and never a worry nor a care. And my total investment in Operating Systems and software on both boxes equals zero dollars and zero cents. And all my upgrades/dates are free too..... Do yourselves a big favor and go to distrowatch.com, read about the different flavors of Linux and pick yourself out a few LiveCD versions to trial. Or you can always just wait for MSWin7 to be released and start buying all sorts of new software to go along with your already penetrated and compromised, outdated and obsolete brand new high dollar Operating System. Some of the new Linus distro's are so simple to install and use that my best friends 59 y.o.wife has installed several different versions on the same hard-drive and has figured out how to use them all with little more than dang near no assistance from any body. She has even figured out how to use Knoppix6 full time and save everything she does/wants to a persistant image. Oh yeah, she is really good at kids and cooking and sewing and fishing and growing things and all sorts of DIY stuff, but, when it comes to computers, she has the techno-savvy and training of your average box of rocks..... Dang folks....even my daughter, whose "technotude" is somewhat close to absolutely zero has installed and has everything running and learned the ins and outs of both SimplyMepis and VectorLinux on her PC all by her little ol' self. And while her friends are having regular issues after frequenting such mandatory malware magnet sites as YouTube, and MySpace she has nothing of the sort, ever.... But, if you wanna believe that you must MUST have MSWin-something, feel free to spend way too much for way too little, and want to keep spending and installing/scanning/removing/etc for no other reason than you insist on running something as shaky and insecure as Vista1, hurry up and buy the fix for Vista1, Vista2, otherwise known as MSWin7, that's certainly your right.... Well, let's see...I may have exaggerated things a bit by stating the "free" thing........Getting Linux will cost you somewhere around $.125 for a blank CD-R, or the current cost of a blank DVD-R.... HAGD Here is a link that might be useful: better than MSWindows, IMHO it is anyway

it is likely you did not get all parts of avast removed, if you do what zep asked he can help you clear all of that out and make sure you do not have too many running at once. those things can cause lots of problems if not corrected. to remove most security programs you have to run a special removal tool in addition to the add remove programs. we can only help if we can have knowledge as to what is on the pc and what is running actively. I would rely most on malwarebytes much more than spyware doctor, update it each time before running the full scan and allow it to remove what it finds. malwarebytes and superantispyware do absolutely nothing till you double clik on them to open the program, then you must update them to get the latest definitions, then you must click to run the full scan and you must tell it to remove what it finds. just having the program on your pc means nothing if you do not actively open update and run them.