grandmas....I will not let country of origin make my decision, but I do still believe in buying made in the USA if possible, and that's hard, but another subject. I too am a "Grandma" and not that computer savy. That is the reason for my two posts about virus scans. I was looking for other peoples ideas and experiences, since mine are so few and I feel I am not qualified to make a good decision based on my knowledge alone (which is little). I probably will go with Avast from the comments posted. I do want something that updates daily. Maybe you could tell me of your experiences with MSE since you are trying it on one of your computers and have Avast on the other. I only have one computer and it's all I need, it's a Gateway and I will have to look at the box to see where it is made. I know my old Gateway was made in America, not sure about this new one, well 1 year old. I'm just trying to get as much info as possible before the 12th, when I have to decide. I have looked at websites that compare virus scans but that can be confusing. I want real answers from real people, it makes more sense to an old Grandma like me. LOL Thanks everyone for your help, I appreciate it so much. It's nice to have a forum to ask for help.

Thanks raven. I looked at the first link you provided and I don't see anything that resembles what I had. So I still have a question. As I recall what popped up on my screen was something that looked like it came from Microsoft, said the computer was infected with a virus, and warned not to shut the computer off. It told me I should click to start the antivirus program. The first time it happened--when I fell for it--I assumed that it would run Windows Defender. My question is, then, does Microsoft ever do this? That is, if indeed I get a virus in the midst of searching the web, is there ever a legitimate Microsoft warning that pops up telling you not to shut the computer down and to click to run a scan? If not, then there's no problem with trying to find out what's legit and what is not. With whatever I got it was truly hard to tell. Thanks!

Thanks, Raven. I'm sure he's behind on lots of stuff. Early in 2009, I had him change his update settings to notify him of updates, but not automatically download. That was to hold off on sp1 (at a time when I think I read here that folks were having trouble with it - but I didn't follow that topic, so didn't realize sp1 had become a good idea and that sp2 followed). We also set it that way bc. his computer was automatically updating and then rebooting when he was in the middle of doing other things. So this was to allow him to time his own downloads and installations. But he just never thought of it - and I didn't think I needed to keep track for him. I do keep track of his Avast, superantispyware, malwarebyte and spywareblaster. Every now and then when he's done surfing I have him leave out the laptop and go ahead and update and scan. I'll have to keep track of more than that, obviously. I got foxit reader on my ancient laptop in my office and love it. It takes so little room and does what I need quickly. Do you like pdf-xchange viewer more than foxit reader? Or does he need to use firefox to use foxit reader? I installed firefox for him - and set up tabs with the places he likes to go (did that in the summer) - but he hasn't used it. He's a bit resistant to tech changes. He balked when I got Tivo's - although he loves it now. He's a musician - and I got him Protools so he could record the music he wrote. That was over 1 1/2 years ago - and he hasn't learned it yet - he's barely scratched the surface. Last spring he bought an Imac bc. it was better for recording music. And now he's finally setting up his den and equipment. I'm hoping he'll actually learn the software this year. I'll take care of the rest for him so the only learning curve he has is Protools (certainly the most challenging of them all). But I digress. I'll check his other updates and run Secunia - I'm pretty sure I already put that on his computer last year. Thanks. Lynn.

Thanks so much! I did run Malwarebytes this morning, but it didn't remove the defender program. This afternoon it did. I must have done something wrong. Here is the log: (Let me know if you think I should do something else.) Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.34 Database version: 1864 Windows 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 3/18/2009 1:28:12 PM mbam-log-2009-03-18 (13-28-12).txt Scan type: Quick Scan Objects scanned: 73661 Time elapsed: 7 minute(s), 57 second(s) Memory Processes Infected: 1 Memory Modules Infected: 0 Registry Keys Infected: 8 Registry Values Infected: 1 Registry Data Items Infected: 3 Folders Infected: 0 Files Infected: 3 Memory Processes Infected: C:\Documents and Settings\Stephanie Turner\Application Data\pcdefender.exe (Rogue.Installer) -> Unloaded process successfully. Memory Modules Infected: (No malicious items detected) Registry Keys Infected: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ieocxapp.ieocx (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\(a54dc52d-7aad-4d40-a126-337211631edc) (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\(4b66e1df-4de3-4cda-83b5-11673eadab0b) (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\(96ad72e4-2e2b-4ffc-a5bb-279c2714af12) (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\(96ad72e4-2e2b-4ffc-a5bb-279c2714af12) (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\(96ad72e4-2e2b-4ffc-a5bb-279c2714af12) (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ieocxapp.ieocx.1 (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\WinPC Defender (Rogue.WinPCDefender) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. Registry Values Infected: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\sysav (Rogue.Installer) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. Registry Data Items Infected: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center\AntiVirusDisableNotify (Disabled.SecurityCenter) -> Bad: (1) Good: (0) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center\FirewallDisableNotify (Disabled.SecurityCenter) -> Bad: (1) Good: (0) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center\UpdatesDisableNotify (Disabled.SecurityCenter) -> Bad: (1) Good: (0) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. Folders Infected: (No malicious items detected) Files Infected: C:\Documents and Settings\Stephanie Turner\Application Data\pcdefender.exe (Rogue.Installer) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. C:\WINDOWS\ieocx.dll (Trojan.BHO) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully. C:\Documents and Settings\Stephanie Turner\Application Data\BIT3E.tmp (Rogue.Installer) -> Quarantined and deleted successfully.