From jmtjet - "People assume that a new computer right out of the box will be protected. They're very upset(and rightly so) when after a few hours of operation thier computers are loaded with virii, trojans and malware."

Then what happened? Was this the user or the computer that caused this to happen?

From mhl - "Nothing - I've switched to Linux "

I plugged linux and malware into Google and came up with 718,000 pages on this subject. So what else might you be doing to be safe in your computer? Speaking for myself I am flat curious.

From Abhoth again - "if Microsoft would pay even the slightest attention to security and a proper browser a huge number of issues could be prevented! (not MS bashing there, just a statement of fact."

In reading and studying between the lines I am starting to wonder if MS and the other vendors are responsible for this very bad situation which seems to be growing worse every day now. Yesterday the news reported three worms.

And from oldhermit - "For me, updating and maintenance is an everyday occurrence, and only takes a few minutes of my time."

Only a few minutes? Nice. And good for you. This would be how much time in a week? For just a few minutes, it would sound as though you are doing something else also.

I am truly appreciative of you that have posted.