Droopy,

Ok...when you disable active scripting the, let's call them viruses, cannot download themselves automatically. Active X is tricky because some sites require it, luckily this one doesn't. If you don't want to disable all of your Active X then just disable the ones that allow unsigned or unverified downloads. Active X and Active scripting work together. Active scripting will keep some javascript from loading on your pc but most viruses are written in java, I can still play games online and everything, but I do enable it when I go to hotmail because you must, yahoo you don't . With Active X enabled and active scripting enabled, the active scripting allows the viruses to get their "own permission" to download themselves thanks to active X. This won't catch everything but this has gotten rid of the Lycos nightmare for me.

I hope this is not as confusing as I think it's gonna be.

If you go to Tools>Internet Options>Security>Custom you will be able to access what all your settings are and change them accordingly. I also set my security level up to Medium, which makes it hard for some sites to load but definitely worth it to me, anyway. I have three children that love arcade games and have given me little gifts pretty often up until I disabled it all

They think I'm mean. LOL. It's better than not having a pc at all!

Good luck, I can understand your anxiety but it really shouldn't be anything to worry about just a major annoyance.

Kimberly.