I'm getting rid of my Norton Internet Security & Anti-virus.

What other similar software do you recommend? I use Windows XP. I also have a router and Ad-aware which may cause the software some problems.

AVG Free Antivirus
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

You already have AdAware but you may wish to add the following:

Spywareblaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

SpyBot Search & Sestroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

And as for the firewall, it depends on your level of technical expertise. I hear ZoneAlarm is good and easyto install/use (although it has minor incompatibilities with a few other programs. Wyvern's also decent. Kerio's good too but less user-friendly and more technical. But you can check out some review s and where to download here:
http://www.tusafe.com/nonags/security.html

NOTE: This site is a mirror site. To select the mirror site closest to you, go to http://www.nonags.com. Nonags.com is my all-time FAVORITE site for free software.


And don't forget to keep all of them updated with the latest signatures, etc.

Internet protection, anti-virus and ad-aware?

I've found that free ZoneAlarm + AVG Free Antivirus + Microsoft AntiSpyware works amazingly well in combination and they're all free. I have heard of ZoneAlarm causing problems with some software, but I've never experienced it.

and ran the anti-virus and spyware options. I thought I deleted 29 spyware programs. But right after that, I ran the spybot search and destroy program and found 33 more spyware programs.

Does that mean that ZoneAlarm Internet Suite isn't going to be enough? Or was there a user problem?

I don't use Zone Alarm's antivirus and spyware features.

Like I said above, I use the free Zone Alarm + AVG Free Antivirus + Microsoft AntiSpyware.

Also, if you're already infected then running any antivirus or antispyware solution in user mode probably won't be enough. You should switch to safe mode to do your initial scans and cleanup.

It keeps reporting suspicious activity and that common Microsoft programs may be monitoring my keystrokes.

I don't think I have a virus. I'm just trying to keep it that way, and specifically, to keep programs from monitoring my keystrokes when I input passwords.

going to this site and go through the steps of posting a Hijackthis log. It sounds to me you have something bad on your computer. Microsoft programs do not monitor your keystrokes but there are keystroke loggers.
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction

You might want to run the rootkit detector from time to time on your box also.

F-Secure BlackLight
http://www.f-secure.com/blacklight/

It's free through May 2006 (but they keep extending it for some reason).

And while you're at it, here's a free keystroke logger detector:

KL-Detector v1.2
http://dewasoft.com/privacy/kldetector.htm

And here's a really sweet little program (yeah, it's free!) that shows you what's running on your box:

What's Running 2.1
http://www.whatsrunning.net/whatsrunning/main.aspx

I'm bookmarking this page.

If Zonealarm is popping up alerts about keystroke logging then you likely have a virus.

And I came up with some old files that my old anti-virus scans would pick up, but never could remove. They're exe files in a subdirectory called C:\Recycler\NPROTECT.

Anyone ever heard of it?

You don't need it (assuming you've uninstalled Norton). Try opening a command prompt (Start --> Run, type 'cmd' and click 'OK) and typing the following command:
rmdir /s \\?\C:\RECYCLER\NPROTECT

them.

Thanks everyone! If only there was a reprogramming key for this UAE mess.

It's now called Windows Defender... whatever....
But is IS a beta and I have experienced incompatibilities on at least one machine, but the programs I run are most likely different from yours. You can get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

In my experience, nothing stops *everything* and therefore the multiple security programs that overlap each other (but please be aware that if someone is *really determined* to get into your system, chances are they will).

I was told by a guy a work to use Grisoft and it worked great on my two computers at home. Then I bought a laptop because we are living in our motorhome while house being built and we were able to hook up to Charter cable for internet and tv. It came with security and we have been using that, but I noticed a virus the other day it couldn't get rid of and when I read about it didn't sound like a bad one.

Should I switch back to Grisoft for this one too or continue with what I have? I also use Spybot and Adware.

I'm dangerous on this thing and yet I have downloaded Anti-Vir, Ad-Aware, Spybot-Search & Destroy, and SpywareBlaster. All are free and were recommended by a computer repair tech. Since I use this computer for very little other than Internet access, it all works for me. Someone told me that I had a case of overkill but as long as nothing messes up and I have no Virus problems it doesn't bother me.
And FREE works too! I checked anti-virus and spyware protection reviews and these all did well.

I ditched NAV on all my computers and installed AVG Free. If you have Service Pack 2 of Win XP it has a built in firewall. I just run that and of course the router has a firewall. I have never seen the need for another firewall program. Maybe I am just fat, dumb and happy.

Here is my AVG story. I was at a relatives home a while back. They had turned off Norton AV a long time back for some reason. They probably had turned it off the first time it asked for money to renew the subscription after the 90 free period. I downloaded AVG and ran a scan. There were over 900 viruses and worms on the computer. I would bet this is a typical situation for people who are not PC savvy.