Can you quote the names of the problematic viruses? The fact that AVG made you aware of the problem proves that it functioned to its expectation; that is, something amiss was detected. Removal is _not_ a function necessarily of an antivirus program but isolation is as long as the program is meant to handle that particular piece of code. If that piece of code was a worm, or other agent such as a trojan, then expectation of an antivirus program to 'fix' said fault is unrealistic....antivirus software is not a magic bullet.....firewalls and anti-trojan software also needs to be in place.Did you inform Grisoft of your AVG experience?

Count me in as an AVG supporter. I too bought and installed Norton. It depends which version you have how bloated and intrusive it is. I liked the free AVG so much, I sent the money for a paid up AVG and am completely happy with it. :D

Welcome to the club Randy:Some time ago I did the same thing, removing all Norton programs. Since then, I upgraded my computer (New Raid0 HD system) and reinstalled everything being sure NOT to include Norton. It has caused all kinds of other untold problems on my daughter's computer with no reference to fltsim. For me, a combination of AVG antivirus, ZoneAlarm Firewall, and Spybot Search and Destroy does the job. The only downside is that I cannot leave ZoneAlarm up when useing SBRelay. I previously used the Outpost firewall and do not remember it being any problem. One exception: when I run Spybot, I get one entry that I cannot get rid of. I run the fix and get the checkmark that it is removed, but the next time I run a scan it is back. I assume it is integral to some program on my computer but have no idea what it is, nor can I tell that it has caused any problem of any kind. I have wondered if it is in reference to ZoneAlarm?The problem listed is DSO ExploitThere are 5 files as follow: HKEY_USERSS-1-5-18SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsZones01004!=W=3 HKEY_USERSS-1-5-21-343818398-1450960922-839522115-1003SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsZones01004!=W=3 HKEY_USERSS-1-5-20SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsZones01004!=W=3 HKEY_USERSS-1-5-19SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsZones01004!=W=3 HKEY_USERS.DEFAULTSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsZones01004!=W=3I also on occasion run NoAdware, and Spyhunter. They do not list DSO Exploit as a problem file. In fact, after cleanup with SpyBot they do not list any problems at all.If anybody know what this "DSO Exploit" is and to what it belongs, I sure would appreciate the info.Good luck:RTH

FWIW, I use avast! anti virus (free for personal use) - especially like the integration with Outlook and Instant Messenger.

Really, an antivirus program (like all background programs) should be written to be as small as possible. NAV, and most other Norton products fail miserably here. Norton products used to be really good, almost essential. However, Windows has evolved and no longer needs bloated third-party programs to "babysit" it or its user. I still like Norton Speed Disk but there are other options that don't force you to install a suite of useless programs along with it.Most viruses are not caused by hackers, but by stupid users - users who open email attachements, download stuff from all over the place without checking it or who don't keep their OS up to date. With a firewall, an up-to-date system and some common sense, you can safely turn off auto-protect while playing FS, as long as you schedule a full scan every now and then and manually scan any downloaded files before running them.

Let me add Diskeeper to the list of neat programs for optimum performance IMHO. Unfortunately, it is not freeware, but it is a snap at keeping your drives unfraged in a minimum time frame. If you use "set it and forget it", it really is a no brainer.Happy flying:RTH

"If anybody know what this "DSO Exploit" is and to what it belongs, I sure would appreciate the info."http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cgi-bin/yabb/...;num=1082096807Hope this helps,Greg

"If anybody know what this "DSO Exploit" is and to what it belongs, I sure would appreciate the info."Apparently you don't need to worry about it if you have kept up with the Microsoft security updates:http://www.ask-leo.com/whats_a_dso_exploit..._rid_of_it.html

I use Norton Antivirus and Firewall, the 2004 version. No problems at all. I disable the antivirus prior to flying and turn it back on again after I quit FS9.

AVG did not inform me I had 2 viruses, I noticed my PC was not acting right, and after scanning with AVG and not finding anything, I used the online scan from trend, which found 2 viruses (can't remember the name), after that I felt that virus/trojan proctection was worth spending some money on, and as such ditched AVG as quickly as possible.Dan.

I've used Norton products for years starting way back with Norton Disk Doctor for DOS something-or-other :) Right now I have Norton Systemworks (which is basically everything). I have never noticed any problems or slowdowns (I also use FS Autostart to disable most of the stuff I don't need). Now everyone has got me thinking now. I think I will uninstall everything and see what impact it has on performance. Of course, I will unplug my cable modem while everything is off!

Well my 2cents...On my old PC I did the switch from NAV to AVG and it did not help with the stutters. The Old PC was a P4/1.9. With AVG I had problems with virus emails and scanning outgoing mail took forever. Even trying to turn off that feature was a pain. Now I have a new PC with a P4/3.4 and a lowly ATI PCI-express card. The PC came with NAV and I use it and even fly with it enabled. I have no stutters and enjoy really smooth flights using real wx and 3d clouds. So I am not sure what the deal is between AVG & NAV. Maybe it is all relevant to the system etc.NAV maybe bloated software but it has worked well for me. YMMVBill

I'll be doing the same thing...When the service pack for FS2004 releases in the hopefully near future, I'll be REFORMATTING my whole PC - I want to give it a thorough cleaning, and that's the best way to do it. Anyway, when I do that, I'll give Norton a rest and give the other antivirus systems a shot. Of course, if I get any performance gains I'll have *no clue* how I got them (drivers, antivirus, the patch, etc.) but hopefully I will see some improvements!Oh well!-Greg

Hello,I just dumped my Norton AV and installed NOD32. I am using the new "FrameHog" Captain Sim 707 as an example of performance. Before - with Norton AV active, my frame rate was 12.1 (pegged at 20). After I installed the NOD32, the frame rate is 19.8 (still pegged at 20) and the little "pauses have vanished. I don't have a clue what the computer issues involved here are but my performance is way up with my FS2004 on a Dell 8200. Also, with my other sims (like Flite1 172R) where my frames were OK but general performance with addons like weather programs and Project Magenta QuickMap had the "jitters". They seem a lot better now - thanks for the tip - it works for me.Thanks,Ron SagelNear KCHS

Same results here-avg did not warn. Some of the strains of sobig that went around a years ago come to mind. I updated almost daily also.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg