This weekend I picked up a virus or spyware. It would not allow me to open most of my applications and constantly created pop-up screens, prompting me to buy an antivirus product everytime I tried to click on icon on my desktop. After doing some research, I found out about Avast and installed the free antivirus software on my PC, then ran it in safe mode. Avast identified the infection as Win32:gen-rootkit[rtk] and I, promptly, placed it in the virus chest. But after I logged on again I noticed that I could not connect to the internet through IE or Firefox, although I was connected to my network. I went back to safe mode and, strangely, I was able to use my browers in safe mode. Can anyone help me with this dilemma?