gargamel360, Vladimyr, Asyn, thanks all for your help, im getting better understanding...
1. i guess i was thinking if Avast MailShield isnt set up properly, or misses something, then the mail thru mail client is more risky since its downloaded to computer, as opposed to webmail...is this incorrect?
2. my ISP (sympatico) say its safest to access mail thru them, directly or thru mail client, either case as compare to webmail, what???