Make sure you have ad-watch running if you can afford it
And if not, Im sure there are plenty of free alternatives about
Also, if a pop-up asking you to install something appears ALWAYS PRESS NO/CANEL
Thats the only way Ive ever know Gator to get installed
Also, use emule if you must use P2P, its spy/ad ware free
Goto
www.download.com and look around for things that will help with security
As for a firewall, havent used one for a long time, I find them too much hassle and no firewall is as good as people make out as they just provide a challenge to hackers, and hackers will accept all challenges
Every since I stopped using firewalls I havent been hacked once and my net speed as been noticablly faster and more stable
But thats just me