Is it just me?

[patrice]

Both of my computers are having trouble with the Internet this a.m. My connection is good, but I can't navigate the web; everything loads real slow or not at all. The ISP says no troubles and my Norton doesn't report anything. Can there be stuff in "hostile" email that causes trouble? Norton should catch all of that shouldn't it?

[CBGLuthier]

1. Oh dear

Well, first, Norton isn't all that good anymore and it doesn't do much against spyware.

If you haven't already, you need to get adaware and spybot S&D and scan your machines.

Also, you need another "backup" antivirus program. Most Duer's support AVG (free), but I like Antivir (also free).

But if you do install a second antivirus program, be sure and either deactivate Norton or make the new one inactive. For antivir, that means unchecking the "load guard at startup" option when installing it. You do not want two antivirus programs actively scanning your machine.

You can get all of these tools from www.download.com

Start with adaware and that will give you a good idea what may be going on.

Also, make sure you have done all of the critical Windows updates.

[idiosyncratic]

2. Good advice in previous post, but I also recommend the Opera browser

It is faster than IE, if that is the browser you are using.

It is also a small download -- half the size of Firefox -- so even with a slow connection, it won't take too long to download.

[Berserker]

3. Some good advice in above posts

Although I will say one thing: Save yourself the trouble of trying to uninstall Opera after you find out that some sites don't support it and use FireFox.
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

[patrice]

4. Thanks.

I'll try to give all of that info its due.