elo guys. i wanna thank all of you in advance for all of your concern. here goes. i'm using ms professional. i think my pc is already compromised because when we finally have an internet i didn't immediately install a firewall. eventually i did install it and several security software like antivirus, trojan hunter and all those security stuffs that i read from this forum. i'm not the only one using this pc and i'm getting annoyed because i can't properly monitor it. i'm planning to reformat our system it's just that my mom is worried coz i told her that if i reformat it, all of the files will be deleted. we don't have a copy of our os because she got this unit from a friend. we have a cd writer and i'm planning to have a backup for all the files. please tell me, which files should i copy? is it possible that i can make a copy of our system files and stuff like that? and also what will happen to our internet connection and the msoffice can i also copy it? what shall i do? i'll be waiting for all of your response guyz before i do anything.
thanks.

Lexine, if your computer is working normally, and the security software you use reports that your system is clean leave it alone. If you want to do further scans to put your mind at ease go to the following sites and use their scans, but more importantly read how to keep and set your system and your security rules up: Flank PC, Wilders.org, PC Pitstop, Browsercheck, CEXX, thepublicworks, Symantec and Trend Micro. Reformatting is big step, and the very first time another person uses your computer, you will be right back to where you are now. Remember when a computer is working just fine leave it alone and second do not open email attachments without scanning them first with your antivirus program. Microsoft and your antivirus vendor does not send you any email to notify you to do something like add/delete a program with the attached file. Any nice games, pictures and programs are not nice and need only to be deleted immediately. Take care and all the best!

If you don't have the install disks for your Operating System and Applications (like MS Office )

DO NOT FORMAT

You can not just copy the files back on from a back up media.

thank you guyz. my pc is working just fine. just that i get the feeling that there still might be a trojan or a backdoor in my pc coz sometimes it's so slow. and during start up my ZA will ask me if i would allow or accept connection thru the internet made by client foundation. there's still a variant of a particular trojan that i'm not able to remove, or maybe it's just in the registry coz it keeps popping up at startup saying it cannot find a component or something. then a 2nd window appeared saying i should remove it to the registry but i don't know where. anyways, i already learn so much from you guyz and thank you very much. keep it up!!

lexine