professorhat:Although just to put your mind at rest slightly, if you are using the firewall in Norton or Windows as advised, you would have been protected from most of the security flaws in Windows / IE. This doesn't mean you can be complacent about it (e.g if you don't have one, an internet router with a built in firewall would also be a good recommendation), but there is a lot of scare-mongering about Windows / IE. Using Firefox is a good idea, but if you prefer IE and have the relevant security products in place (i.e. anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewalls etc.) in place, you should be fine. The biggest threats normally come through emails or dodgy websites - just ensure you don't open any emails you're not sure of and avoid browsing in the, shall we say, seedier corners of the internet. Norton 360 was rated highly by PC Pro last year by the way.
I agree. As long as you have a good software firewall, spyware and AV installed with real time scanners you should be fine. Luckily you can get them free. I use Antivir AV, Sunbelt Personal Firewall & a number of antispyware programs, though the real time scanner is covered by windows defender. Plus don't forget to run them. Running CCleaner every few days will also help. On the browser front I primarily use firefox because of it's add ons but also use IE 7 and Opera. All have their uses, though this forums section never renders properly in opera. Above all though sensible browsing is advisable, leave the naughty sites alone.Or buy a Mac or install one of the many linux distributions (que lots of hair pulling, shouting and long searches on forums) and be virus and spyware free.