hi, thanks for the quick reply. i actually can't remove these 2 particular hotfixes from Add/Remove programs. it doesn't give me an option that says change/remove. I just get a message telling me to reference "Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) KB810243" to get further assistance. No link is provided, though, for that assistance. i did run AdAware, and later Spy Xterminator, and removed a ton of spyware. But i'm still having the same hang ups. i'm trying to purchase a remove hotfix backups program at dougknox.com, but am having trouble with that too! (paypal is down or something) Has anyone tried this program ... does it work?? looks like it's gonna be one of those days...