Vincent

My apologies for no response for a week - I have been computer-less. I won't bore you with all the details but the outcome is that I now have a new computer.

However, there is one further thing I would like your advice about. This new computer had my old HD installed by a friend who specializes in computer hardware. I had explained to him that I was in the process of removing a virus. He took it upon himself to do two things: 1. he transferred a considerable amount of files from my old HD to the new C drive, and 2. he downloaded and installed Avast.

I took your advice and investigated a number of AV programs and decided to try Nod32 - primarily because in Scot's newsletter it said that Nod32 had a small footprint and ran smoothly with Spysweeper (which I have).

Nod32 requires other AV tools to be uninstalled so I uninstalled Avast. Since I have done this, the computer seems to be a little slower than before. Once I am in a program it is quite quick, but if I don't do anything for a few minutes it takes a bit of time to do what I ask.

The other thing that bothers me (because I associate it with viral behaviour) is that my desktop icons seem to 'refresh' quite often - as they might do when installing an update or new program. Is this normal?

As always, I appreciate your time.
Regards, Dan.

Sorry for the delayed response, myself.

Nod32 requires other AV tools to be uninstalled so I uninstalled Avast. Since I have done this, the computer seems to be a little slower than before. Once I am in a program it is quite quick, but if I don't do anything for a few minutes it takes a bit of time to do what I ask.

I have recently changed one of my PCs to NOD, as well. And you are right, some applications are a little hesitant when first starting up. I did have Norton AV which took over 71 minutes to do a complete system scan - NOD now takes only 50 minutes. Keep in mind that most major AV tools will ALWAYS do a satifactory job in responding to major AV infection items - choose what works for you. The thing that is most striking on NOD is the following table comparison which shows how effective each AV tool can be when not updated for three months. NOD was shown to be almost 60% effective compared to 22% for Avast. This shows how smart a tool can be with significant reliance on proactive detection techniques and not on formal virus signature definitions:

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seite...R_June2006.pdf

The other thing that bothers me (because I associate it with viral behaviour) is that my desktop icons seem to 'refresh' quite often - as they might do when installing an update or new program. Is this normal?

That is not really normal. Could suggest a video card refresh, configuration, or driver issue, etc.