know I have a virus, don't know anything else about it.

[faerieem]

thanks.  I think I am almost back up and running.  Now that I've "freshened up" my laptop with a full format, I may go off and do the same thing to my old XP desktop that has a very full hard drive.

With spyware programs like you listed, do I have them all on and active?  do they run in the background or do I need to get back into the habit of just running them weekly?
I have Windows Defender on and running.  Is there a way to settle User Account Control down so it isn't popping up every time I make a change?

[SuperDave]

With spyware programs like you listed, do I have them all on and active?  do they run in the background or do I need to get back into the habit of just running them weekly?

MBAM has a free trial period of continous scanning. Once that expires, you will probably have to buy the new version. Or, you can keep MBAM and SAS on your computer, update them and run regularyly.

Is there a way to settle User Account Control down so it isn't popping up every time I make a change?

You can disable it.