Malware on my pc - help!

[ny biker]

Okay then. I think the malware was successfully removed, but I still had problems with the laptop spontaneously rebooting while I was doing things online (like searching sites where I could buy Windows Office and writing an update on Facebook). I tried uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox but that did not help. So I went ahead and reset the laptop to the factory settings. After the factory reset, I immediately checked for Windows updates, of which there were 104. It took about 2 hours for those to be installed. Then I just kept rebooting and checking again for updates -- I think there were 10-15 more installed over three batches. Hopefully it is now all up to date, at least for a day or so. Microsoft really does seem to push out a ridiculous amount of updates.

I've also uninstalled the McAfee Antivirus that came with the laptop, and downloaded and installed Microsoft Security Essentials, which I prefer because it's free and unobtrusive and seems to have worked well on my old laptop. I also installed Firefox, my preferred browser, but to avoid reliving the malware problems I went straight to mozilla.org instead of trying to access it through an internet search. I've also installed the VPN software that I need for work and installed the driver for my printer. So the new laptop is now back to the way it was before the factory reset, except for the whole malware adventure.

Let's hope it works well now without spontaneous reboots or any other problems!! If not, my next step will be to contact the store I bought it from to exchange it for a new one.

Of course my IT adventures are not yet over. I still need to import photos, music, browser favorites, and other files from the old laptop to the new one, and I'm trying to figure out how to adjust the color settings on the new screen because everything looks too blue. And in order to eke more life out of the old one, I've bought a monitor and wireless keyboard to use with it. I have to provide my own computer for work, and have been hauling my laptop to and from the office every day for over a year now. But now I will set up the old laptop with the new monitor and keyboard in my office and will keep the new laptop for home use. This will make my life much easier.

I need to keep reminding myself of the benefits of having this technology, because getting it to work right really is quite the time suck and it can be overwhelming to try to figure out how to do everything that needs to be done.

Thanks again!!