OK.
i. Mac and Norton can slow down your PC but this can be solved with their own net based patches
ii. You can get all the virus protection you need for free
iii. Look at the BIG thread in this forum on "Protecting your PC agin nasties"
iv. Go to housecall.trendmicro.com and run a free online virus checker - if you're on Dial-Up then it could take a while
v. You're in the UK, so go to computeractive.co.uk and map to "Downloads" then bag:
AdAware (cookies and other nasties)
Zone Alarm (firewall)
AVG (Anti Virus)
AdAware isn't active - i.e. Once on your HDD you'll need to run it and u/date it manually
ZA and AVG will run in the background and require weekly updates (minimum)
Yours aye,
PSP
London
btw - it you buy Mac then you can install it on multpile PCs - no worries - at least none that I've encountered