Computer Security:
Hi Cathy,
I've got Vista, so here goes...
The built in firewall seems to work OK, and it's activated by default, so it should be working on yours unless you've been in to the 'security centre' and switched it off. I bet you haven't!
A firewall isn't anti-virus, it's to stop unwanted nasty little geeks (hackers) getting in to your computer from the internet and using it to do all sorts of things with without you knowing.
Anti virus. What I'd do is get one of the freebies, AVG is popular, I use Avira, it's good, and updates itself every day when I switch on. I'd download it to your desktop, but don't install it yet.
Once it's downloaded, disconnect from the web. Then get rid of MacAfee; probably going to Start/all programs is best, if you find MacAfee on that list, right click on it and you should find the 'uninstall' option.
Once you've uninstalled it (you will probably have to re-boot, make sure your comp doesn't connect to the net when you do), then you can install the new anti virus you've just down loaded. Then reconnect to the net.
I'd also get 'Spybot-Search and Destroy'. That checks for unwanted nasties, and some not-so-nasty-but-still-unecessary stuff on your comp. If you don't schedule it to run, then run it manually once week.
One word about this. The latest version also keeps a real-time check on your registry (it doesn't matter what your registry is, but it is important to your comp). As a result, occasionally when you download new stuff, or you get an automatic update, or even remove stuff, Spybot will pop up a window to warn you something is trying to alter the registry. If you're doing something intentional, or you know it's an automatic update, just click 'Accept'
I've had Avira and Spybot for several years now, and not had any problems. And both run on Vista.
Cheers,
Dave.