Well, I'm almost back to normal with my work now. I've recovered the bits I lost. Thanks for your suggestions r.e. how to avoid virus infections. I'd love to get a mac and one day I will when I can afford it (so that's quite a few years yet!). Tomfinland, I do have a firewall and good antivirus software, but this infestation was evil, and ironically, it made having my computer infected an even worse experience. I watched in despair as it my antivirus went: virus detected, virus detected, multiple viruses detected. Unfortunately, it just told me I was doomed and didn't help me out!