guys im wonderin...when i install somethin on my computer am i supposed to have the anti spyware thing running?...usually they tell you to disable everything..coz i know its supposed to prevent spyware from being installed and run

M$ Antispyware does not prevent spyware from being installed and run on your PC. Rather, it only detect them and remove them when found. To actually prevent spyware from being installed, you need to discipline yourself with what you do while on the Net. i_XpUser

I beg to differ concerning what M$ antispyware does - there is a realtime scanner which will detect spyware as it tries to alter system & program settings - hence the little target icon in the System tray and the 'realtime protection' section. I suppose it's an academic point as to whether this 'detection' is as the spyware arrives on your machine or as it starts doing its business. As with all software installations you do get advised to stop running processes but you have to decide for yourself whether you are happy that the software you're installing is bona-fide & won't mess around with your system. If the software needs to alter settings then M$ will nag you/advise you so I'd suggest leave it running. "I know that I'm mad - I've always been mad..."

HI johnr, Thanks for that. When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I forgot all about the real-time security agents features. When a Microsoft Security Agent prompts you for action, an alert window appears in the bottom right corner of your screen, which includes information concerning the change allowing you to make an informed decision about whether or not to allow the action to complete. I wonder if this features will makes your surfing completely safe? i_XpUser

I don't think anything produced by M$ can make things completely safe because they've made themselves such a target for hackers & suchlike but it's the end-user who suffers. Having said that I'm quite impressed with Antispyware so far - I've persuaded everyone I know with XP & 2000 to install it mainly because it's the only (currently free) software I've found which you can install & forget about which is what your average user wants. How many times have you installed Adaware & Spybot on a system & gone back a few months later to find that neither has been run, let alone updated, since your last visit? "I know that I'm mad - I've always been mad..."

Hi lloyd, In answer to your question...... I leave my AV prog running when "downloading" new software to install from the internet, however if I'm installing from commercial CD, then I disable my AV prog during installation after having ran AV scan prior. At any rate it is wise to run AV scan on the commercial CD's or any CD for that matter, and on the downloaded execute files prior to installation though......"just in case" it sure doesn't hurt anything to do so. I always run the AV scan immediately after installing new software whether it be from the net or from a commercial CD. Better safe than sorry! And yes, it is best to disable all other active progs prior to installing new software. Hope this makes sense! And hope this is relevant to what you are asking. This is the way I understood your question. durgan