I sometimes speak up concerning others' suggestions that seem like Chicken Little-type fear mongering. I also think too many people have too many unsupported fears of unlikely risks on the internet and from PC use in general. I'm generally in agreement with Kudzu's comments, but let's be realistic - no one knows what the evil doers will do. Using an XP PC on a network that's unconnected to the internet - I'd say zero risk. Use it in full confidence until the hardware dies. Using an XP PC on the internet? Time will tell. Having capable firewalls, updated security software, etc., is a must for all PCs with all operating systems anyway. I have an XP PC that I use very occasionally that has all the protection reasonably available. I'll be sure to remove any personal info and will use it carefully. If I see any hint of odd activity, I'll just replace it. For most PCs old enough to have XP, spending good money to put a newer Windows on old hardware seems a poor choice to me.

Thanks, I found the apparent problem. I removed my hubby as administrator (due to past problems) and for some reason it would not update under his log on. Once I logged on (as admin) it updated. Same thing happened with MB. Frankly, that shouldn't happen. He should be able to update these various programs without being admin...although he rarely does, thus the past problems! Jane

Kaths you have been infected by the antivirus xp virus this is a very nasty one and takes several steps to clean it, you will need to get these 3 programs and run each of them do not stop with one if it seems better do all of them. If you find you are not able to go to these sites to download the programs that means you have a more aggressive type and you will need to come back here and tell me that then I can lead you to another forum where we can help you with that clean up. for now go ahead and get these programs and run them they are all free. ATF-Cleaner.exe be sure you follow the directions as they apply to each type of browser you have. SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition install it hit the update button tell it to scan your entire drive and allow it to clean anything it finds. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to your desktop. * Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program. * At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish. * If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version. * Once the program has loaded, select Perform full scan, then click Scan. * When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results. * Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected. * When completed, a log will open in Notepad. Please save it to a convenient location. The log can also be found here: C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Logs\log-date.txt when you are done let me know how it is doing then we can go from there. Here is info on your infection. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/22/anatomy_of_a_hack/print.html

Just keep right on using the computer is my suggestion. You need to have something besides your anti virus program unless it is a 'cure all' type program covering virii and malware. Something like the free Malwarebytes will do you proud. Be very sure to watch as you install to stay with the free version - unless you would like the pro version of course. After April just pay a little more attention to running a virus scan and a malware scan periodically and you'll do fine. The browser you use has nothing to do with XP. Your XP is the operating system.