Owbist, I am using the MSE (MS security essentials) anti virus program... the machine (OS) is a vista, but I think MSE turns off the defender program which I believe is ( or was ) the firewall I could be wrong. Does anyone know for sure that there is a firewall up and running with the MSE in place ? Damccoy, I sorta know that certain sites can be a problem ..my concern is to have something in place to at least give me an edge for protection, I can self govern myself. And I do a scan for malware etc at least once a week. My question is do I have a firewall in place now even if I run MSE ???

I would recommend Spyware Terminator. It integrates the ClamAV antivirus program and scans for both spyware and viruses. Spyware Terminator has realtime protection. Here are a couple of links. http://www.spywareterminator.com/app/features.aspx http://www.snapfiles.com/get/spywareterminator.html I have been running the program for some time and have never had a problem. Regards.

I would suggest adding spywareblaster it will help immunize your browsers and prevent some of the browser take overs and issues that happen. It is free but you do have to remember to open it and update it about once a week, no scans to run just open, hit update, then enable all protection so the shield is green and you are done till the next week. SpywareBlaster 4.1 It is one program that should be on every pc. Be sure to remember to update and scan with superantispyware about once a week or so. I also suggest everyone do one of the online Antivirus scans every so often just to make sure the one on your pc is catching everything. BitDefender Online Scanner

When you try to open Microsoft Security Essentials and you got the message âÂÂWindows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item.â then your computer is probably infected with the ZeroAccess rootkit. The new variants of this rootkit will alters the junction points for Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender. Causing either program not to be able to be accessed, reinstalled or uninstalled. The ZeroAccess rootkit is a dangerous threat that has been circulating for several years. SophosLabs has recently seen the number of machines infected with Zero Access increase sharply as there has been a proliferation of samples appearing in the wild. You need or should to go to a Malware removal forum, where log files can be looked at, or take it in for repair, or return it to factory defaults. I would suggest you Google Zero Access rootkit. Just to become familiar with it . This is also know as a back door Trojan. You might want to Google Backdoor Trojan. The link I have provided shows how to remove it, but you will never understand the log files that get generated or find then difficult to understand, that's why I suggest getting help at a forum. Here is a link that might be useful: malwareremovalguides