I run malwarebytes antimalware, Hitman Pro, and have a couple of antirootkit programs. I occasionally get warnings when running scans, but they are normally for tracking cookies and PUPs (potentially unwanted programs). I haven't had a virus or hijack attempt. Are you getting actual virus or hijacking warnings, or is it just malware/tracking cookie/PUP warnings?
The problem with good antivirus programs is that they are so efficient that they will pull up anything that they even suspect should not be on your computer, including things that pose no risk to you or your computer, including other antivirus programs.
And that is also a good thing!
As an example, I just ran my antimalware, and although I don't have any viruses or hijackers, I did have quite a few tracking cookies and a couple of registry errors(potentially unwanted programs). From the list in my anti-malware, I deleted all the tracking cookies (do not desire them) and then looked at the registry key, saw that the registry errors were just leftovers from a program that I uninstalled a couple of days ago.
I am not saying GW is or is not a security threat to your computer. I don't know what steps they take to protect their users.
My opinion of McAfee is low (every friggin program that I need to update, like Adobe and the likes, offers McAfee, and it is really annoying to have to make sure you uncheck that box) anyway. Not saying it is a bad antivirus, I just won't use it, and apparently neither will the creator of McAfee (John McAfee). We have the same reason. It is too annoying.

This post was edited by AuroraWA on Tue, Nov 4, 14 at 9:42

Denise, I have not had that particular problem here but I will say that in the last month or so, this page takes an eternity to load and I sometimes get bombarded with ads. Before that, this was probably the easiest website to load, I kinda dread it now because it takes so long to if there are more than just a couple new posts to read. Seems I am stuck here forever.

poseidon

Try the Foxfire browser, which you can download for free. There are ad and tracking blockers that will work well with it.

I've had Windows Vista (ugh) on my computer for a long time reading this site and many others. I had AVG free antivirus installed on it, and never a problem with this site.

Then about a month ago I upgraded to Windows 8.1 on this laptop, and it comes with its own antivirus that is pretty good, so I did not install anything on top. Still no signs of virus or malware messages of any kind.

I think the Office Depot person was BS'ing you. They either wanted to sell you McAfee antivirus, or they wanted to get you off their backs fast, or they simply did not know what they were talking about. If you are on Windows 8.1, you do not need additional antivirus at all, and if your Windows is a lower version that does not come with an antivirus, there are absolutely free ones out there that are really good. AVG is one of them that was perfectly fine for me fore a long while. (They try to sell you a paid version when you install, but the free version is the one I am talking about.)

I heard McAfee slows down your computer more than others. Based on that, I would not want it even if it came free.

There is also this. You said GardenWeb was the first thing you did. Any antivirus, when freshly installed, goes to its servers to update its database of viruses and checks for a new version of itself. That takes some time, and meanwhile if it updates itself, it might turn itself off temporarily, and Windows will immediately tell you that your antivirus is off, and urge you to look into that. Is it possible you got that message while (by chance!) being on this site?

In any case, I would not shy away from GW.

Oh, and I wholeehartedly second the suggestion to install another browser and not use Internet Explorer. Firefox is very good; I use Google Chrome which is also amazing. Popup blocking is a must, and I also installed AdBlock (available for Chrome AND Firefox) which blocks most ads on most websites. This suggestion is not about viruses, actually, but it is about browsing speed and productivity and convenience.

Once I get settled in with the new laptop, I will probably go back to GW. I'm working the bugs out of it right now. Actually, the 2nd thing I did was download firefox - or that's what I THOUGHT I did! I googled Mozilla Firefox and found a download, downloaded it, and then I couldn't figure out how to run the setup and aksed the OD guy to help me. Well, as it turns out it wasn't Firefox - it was some fake website to fool us ignoramuses! So I have a feeling some of this stuff creeped in with that download. It's at OD now and hopefully, he'll get me fixed up...

Denise in Omaha