Sapphires you might consider changing from Zonealarm in the near future because it no longer supports your Windows 98. This does not have the same urgency as changing your anti virus but should be done at some point. Comodo, linked below, is very similar to Zonealarm in that it pops up near the clock when looking for permission or denial. There are other free firewalls just as good of course. I use this on my main computer along with their anti virus. A word of caution though if you use the Comodo anti virus, for some reason Windows XP refuses to recognise it and tells me I am exposed. I am not, it is working just great. Here is a link that might be useful: Comodo firewall

I dont have Avast on any computer here to check, but, I recently worked on one that did. If I remember correctly, it is set by default to scan both incoming and outgoing email. It is possible, that you only had to check the settings. I used to recommend downloading from cnet all the time, now it is the place, I tell everyone to stay away from. What is good for a while, isnt always good later on. The download sites above, Majorgeeks etc are very good sites to download from right now and hopefully, they will stay that way.

You might try, if you havent, running the CheckDisk Error checking - right click C drive and select properties. Usually when you cant delete IE cache its an indication of a corrupt file within Content.IE5 folder. Sometimes running CheckDisk here in the past has fixed simple things like a file date that's screwed up from a server but it won't be able to fix all things that could be causing the cache not to clear. You'll have to be logged in as administrator in safe mode but not on the named account where its corrupt to be able to delete it. I would speculate it could be a corrupt user account too. Which would require you to make a new user name/pass login and the delete your current one. But the first logical thing to do is delete the content.ie5 folder from safe mode and another account - and see what happens.

Woah now! I would not say that. Only one anti spyware is barely enough. Most people install 2 or 3 as these do not normally run unless to set them to run. Having more than one of these allows you to use either and if in doubt use both at any given time. There are many free ones to choose from, all with inherent strengths and weaknesses. There are also too many sound alikes which are bad news indeed so tread warily when deciding. Here are a few reputable ones I either do or have used on my computers Spywareblaster Spybot Search & Destroy Superantispyware AdAware 2007 I also had the free AVG anti spyware program installed and was quite happy with that. We'll see how good the reports are on version 8 of their Anti virus with anti spyware built in, hopefully it will be as good as both running separately.