Hi GWT,
Sorry to hear about your woes with the 'puter.
Here's a couple of other suggestions to help keep the new computer clean and safe from the crap out there in cyberspace:
If you now have Windows XP as your operating system,
be sure the firewall is turned on. Your saleperson that you bought the computer from can help you make sure it is on.
You also should ask the salesperson if your new computer has had the new Windows Service pack 2 installed already or if you need to download it. If it has not been installed, you can go to Microsoft's site and download it from there. Note- if you use a dial-up connection to get on the internet, order the service pack CD from Microsoft. Otherwise it will take literally HOURS to download.
I would also suggest ditching AOL. Yeah, I know lots of people like it, but I know that AOL can also cause some minor problems for your computer. The AOL software overrides some of the programs already included in most versions of Windows such as the video player.
I also run Spy-bot and Norton Anti-virus and I update them at least once a week.
Never open an attachment in an e-mail that is an .exe file - that is where most of the worms, viruses, etc. come from.
Finally - a note to you guys that are more comfortable with digging in deeper into the computer files...
If you want to check out if there is a possible virus on your system or if you are just curious what some of those .exe files that are supposed to be in the OS are for, you can check out this site:
http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/browse.php?l=1
You can search out what those files do and if they are really supposed to be there or not.
Good luck GWT !