Internet Explorer and spyware issues

I'm publishing this after a phone call from a friend with a PC problem on Windows XP Pro.

Paul,

Quick note to run through updates for your PC.

1. Go to www.mozilla.org and download Firefox. This is a pretty good browser, doesn't take a lot of disk space and it can co-exist with Internet Explorer. The only problem I have had with Firefox is that some eBusiness and banking sites are designed for Internet Explorer.

Install it on your machine and take all the defaults.

2. Uninstall Internet Explorer. Go to Start - Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs. Click the Add/Remove Windows Components button on the left site of the dialog box (third button from the top).
This will open the Windows Components Wizard. The 4th option is Internet Explorer - clear the check box and click Next. Complete the wizard to remove IE. You may have to restart your computer. If not, restart it anyway.

3. Install IE 6.0 SP1. The link below is for Internet Explorer home page and the download. The IE 6.0 SP1 download includes the full install. You can access this from Firefox. Run the setup and all the components will be downloaded and installed automatically.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx - home page
http://tinyurl.com/558l5 - short link for IE 6.0 SP1 download

4. Download and install Microsoft antispyware beta. The install uses a wizard, take all the defaults and run a through scan of your system. It will automatically provide realtime protection and you will see a 'bullseye' icon in your tray. You can right click the icon for more info, options and to confirm that realtime protection is enabled.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Hope this helps.

Give me a ring if you have problems.

-Paul