Thanks for the firewall bit. I didn't realize that the firewall was

part of this package.

Was Zone Alarm the only Firewall suggested.

I have a few to suggest:

http://www.jetico.com/jpf2.htm

http://www.pctools.com/firewall/

Both of these are compatible with Windows XP Pro and Home.

You might want to click on the links and read a little bit about them.

FLASHORN.

You are very welcomed!

I'm glad you were able to get around all of those apps.

You did get Zone Alarm to run right?

Once you had all of your new security on line , did you run FULL

SCANS on your PC?

This would be important only if to see how they work and

compare to your old ones. Also to see if any malware was

missed by your previous security.

One other matter. How often do you Defrag and Clean out

the Temps Files.

here is the link to a very good cleaning app. Atribune.org ATF-Cleaner .

Actually it is only

an .exe, so , it won't install. Just double click on the .exe

and choose what you want to clean.

Here is a screen shot of this .exe and what should be checked marked:

And then , once the files are cleaned (it will take but a few seconds)

you will get a pop-up telling you how much space it has liberated.

If there is anything else you are concerned with well,

you know were to find us.

FLASHORN.

OK, your way is also good but, having the ATF Cleaner around is SOOO much easier

not to mention that this little .exe will only delete the right files. Now, as you can see , if you had used the

ATF Cleaner , that Temp file would not have bothered you.When you clicked on the link that I posted

if Avast came up , it must have been what is called a "False Positive" meaning,that Avast "thought"

that a file on the web site in question was "acting" as a virus. DO NOT WORRY about it. Avast is using what

is called a "Heuristic" type scanning. This detection method will warn you that "MAYBE" there is a virus or other

types of malware. DO NOT WORRY. Most of us here at PCWorld forum either use or have used this little .exe

for some time now and I can assure you that it is safe. I use ATF at least once a week.

OK, now for the De fragmentation:

This is a procedure that has to be done once a month if you do not use the PC that much

but, if you are on the computer every day , or if you work at home with your PC then

I suggest you do it more often.

This is what a Defrag consists of:

First I'll tell you how to access it in XP:

Go to Start , then Control Panel, from there you will see a link called

"Performance and Maintenance"

click on that one.

Another panel will appear

The last entry should say something to the effect:

"Reorganize or Consolidate the files on your hard drive:

click on that link .

Now, another window will appear with the option to

"Analise" your hard drive and also to "Defragment" your hard drive

Just click on the De fragment option and go for a coffee.

If you have never done this before , it probably will take some time.

Now to Explain what this feature does:

As you work with your PC you constantly access the hard drive or

rather the Files on your hard drive.

Over time , these Files get scattered over the surface of the hard drive.

Fragments of these files are not put back in their proper place so, the hard drive has to

"Look" for these fragments in order for you to work with them.

Hence , the word "De fragment" meaning , that those displaced files are beeing

put back where they belong making the access of these files allot faster.

So, you will get what will seem like a boost of speed from this procedure alone.

Now , for the Norton Removal Tool, if you used the Older one on your PC , I would recommend

you uninstall the present one and download a newer version. This will probably solve your situation.

: Noton Removal Tool for Win 2000/XP/Vista .

Click on the link above and Save the file to your Documents and Run the uninstall tool

once again.

As for Zone Alarm , Most if not all Firewalls need to Learn your web browsing habits.

So, until it has all of the pertinent information, it will continue to ask for permissions.

Also , when you "up-date" a program and the program changes configuration

due to the up-date , the Firewall will still ask for your permission to let this new

configuration interact with the internet.

I hope this will help you understand a little more about the installed programs

and how to maintain good maintenance habits.

If you feel the need to ask about anything, do not hesitate, come back to this thread

and we will answer as best we can.

FLASHORN.