I don't use a program for filtering because I have never set up filters before, I just assumed there would be some option on the email site, I haven't looked.
The virus' are all coming from the account I use for forums and such, until now I've never had a problem with virus' or junkmail so I never bothered filtering.
I have personal accounts which very few people know the address of and I never get virus' or junk mail with those.
1. Now looks like a very good time to start, deleting this stuf from the mail servers rather than downloading it and catching the virus with avast, should be a last line of defence not a first line of defence. I use mailwasher pro (paid for version but there are other options) for this, deleting about 100 spam and suspect emails a day.
2. The likelyhood is that your emailaddress has been harvested using a bot (automated software set to find email addresses) scanning the web, forums, usenet, etc. etc. to find email addresses to ad to lists for future spam/malicious purposes.
3. Never say never, those people are a potential source of infection. If they are slapdash in their anti-virus proceedures, then they can be infected and quess whos email address is in their addressbook
that's right yours. So you get an email from a friend amd your email program lets it in, bingo, avast goes nuts firing off alarms.
Never rely on your ISP or anyone else to filter spam or virus infection, you have to take responsibility yourself.
Your virus would appear to have got in through a vulnerability that was patched by MS in 2003. So make sure your software is up to date, your OS, Browser, email program, anti-virus, firewall, etc. etc.
Have a look at my sig to get an idea of some (not all) of the programs I use for my defence.
David