since you said you don't know anything about it then I would run a belarc to get all the info about the pc and a SIW, plus you will want to run a secunia scan to see what needs updating on it and do those asap. Belarc Advisor SIW those are good to print so that you have all the info handy should you need it. Secunia Online Software Inspector (OSI) I forgot to mention adding spywareblaster to your security list, just install, update then once a week open it hit update then click the enable all protection so the shield turns green. SpywareBlaster be sure you get the free version when you go to the download link just continue with the one you started with do not move to the trial of the pay version.

if you want help from us then and then won't do what tasks are asked then there is no way we can help you. WE could send you to one of the support forums specific for clean up but you must run the scans and tasks that are asked for us to see what is on the machine if we don't know then there is no way to help clean it. If zep is asking you to run something you can rest assured it is NOT something to hurt you it is to see what you have lurking on the pc. There is a difference between antivirus programs and all the other things you mentioned. You can only have one Antivirus program running at a time you have MSE that is fine. You can have several other anti malware programs on the pc because they do not run till you start them up and run a scan you only do one at a time. Malwarebytes is great be sure you update it prior to running the full scan weekly, another is superantispyware also update prior to running full scan. The other thing you should have is spywareblaster you just open it weekly and hit the update button then hit enable all protection so the shield turns green that is it it sits there and does it's thing. I would also suggest putting WOT on your browsers so you are warned if a site has a bad reputation or is dangerous. Use this tool regularly to check for updates to other things on your pc , the majority of infections today are happening because of not updating your flash, java, adobe etc programs they must be updated and so must windows so do all those updates. Secunia Online Software Inspector (OSI) run online virus scans occasionally to see if they find something your MSE missed ESET�s Free Online Scanner You want to quarantine because if it happens to be something that was needed then you can go back and get it, when they are in quarantine you need not worry about them just leave them alone. If you would feel better going to a support forum for help in examining what you are dealing with here is the link, you will need to register there and post your question in this forum area. I am there also if you need help let me know. Analysis and Malware Removal If you read through some of the posts there you will see how many people are helped and are thankful for that kind of free assistance.

Thanks, Zep and Raven. I had a hard time finding the free ZA download, but managed to avoid the other stuff in the end. Oh, yeah, and I can see that ZA is going to take some getting used to. Lots of things in Program Control that I don't know what to do about, though when I can find time to go through all the tutorials Raven gave a link to, I hope I will begin to understand. But meanwhile: (1) Will Firefox need to be "allowed" under "Server"? If I don't allow it, what might I miss out on? (2) Should I allow Sys32\svchost under both Access and Server? I have no idea what it was allowed previously, though presumably access was allowed. (3) Under Firewall>Advanced, I find "Disable Win Firewall," which I assume is good, now that I have ZA, but what is "Filter traffic over 1394"? No idea at all what 1394 is or what checking this box might do. Only these two boxes were already checked. I will leave them checked until I hear to the contrary by one of you. All help along this line is appreciated!

Vala55, yes it is the only protection I am using. It is an anti virus and anti malware combine. That along with the Windows 7 firewall Now, this is not necessarily a recommendation for others to follow, it is just my way of seeing if the one program can/will do the job. It can and does. On my other machines I use Superantispyware, Malwarebytes, Spywareblaster and what ever anti virus I feel is the flavour of the day, currently Avast and Avira.