I followed Avast advice and removed one of my security systems that included a firewall and anti-virus, etc., and that came from my internet provider, before I installed Avast. What I am not sure of is the Microsoft/Windows security program. The one that shows as a shield in the control panel and monitors security. Am I supposed to remove that as well, or does it comment on whatever software you’re running? Is there a firewall included in Avast? Thanks.
The Microsoft Security centre is a status reporting program, and doesn’t contain any anti-malware applications. Here’s some info from the horses’ mouth about it. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883792
Sometimes the security centre gets itself all bewildered, the poor thing. So it shouldn’t be relied on as an absolutely always correct status reporter. It can get things wrong.
If the shiield is actually showing in your system tray, yellow or red, that is an indication something probably needs attention. What?
(Fairly likely to be the firewall, since one was recently removed and may not have turned the Windows firewall on. If so, click on the security centre to open it, select “firewall settings” and work your way through the prompts to get the Windows firewall turned on. Important.)
As I asked you in your other thread, what was the antivirus or suite you removed? (If you know. If not, who is your ISP?)
[edit] Sorry, didn’t read your post quite properly. It’s ok for the shield to show in the control panel. It only indicates a problem if it appears in the tray, which I’ve posted to you about above, and probably needlessly.
Oh, I didn’t realize it was just a reporting vehicle. No, actually, I do get yellow and red shields in my system tray, but it usually is to tell me that I have updates to install. I thought Windows security had a firewall. Am I wrong? Does Avast? If not, how do I get one? I thought they were built into antivirus programs. You can tell I’m a complete dunce when it comes to these things. Hope my questions aren’t too annoying!
I just read your reply again. I get Microsoft and Windows confused. So Microsoft is the reporting vehicle. And Windows is the firewall I should turn back on. Got it. But I’m still confused about the Microsoft/Windows relationship. In the past, when I have tried to turn off Windows components becuz I had my ISP (it’s my local cable company, to answer your question) security suite, Microsoft never seemed to get it right as to what is OFF and what is ON. Now I realize it is giving me info about any security program I have got running. OK. (I think.) 
You’re right, kind of. Microsoft is the parent company; the product (operating system) is called Windows, for the way it operates. Current version is Vista; 7 soon to come, and there have been several incarnations prior, including XP series, 2003, 2000 etc.
So Windows is the name of the OS; Microsoft owns the rights to it. And has a contract with the customer, for providing support in the form of security and/or performance and/or functionality updates. And if you ever read a Ms agreement, you’ll see that the customer has certain obligations to Ms in order to receive that support. And if you ever read it to the end of one of those agreements, you might notice that the tees are crossed and the eyes most definitely dotted!
So the operating system, Windows whatever-it-is (I guess you’re either on Vista or XP) has, from XP (service pack2 on) a built in firewall. It is on by default. Some third party applications (security) may turn it off as part of their install routine, this is normal. You should not have more than one software firewall active, and in many cases, you can not.
However, after uninstalling a third party application, I always check that the Windows firewall has been re-enabled. Once, over three years and maybe 5 different firewall installs/uninstalls, the Windows firewall was not reactivated. So it’s not common, but it can happen. (If it did, you should get the red shield. But the red shield is not infallible.)
So yes, the security centre is a reporting vehicle. It monitors the status of antivirus, firewall, antispyware (when installed and recognised) and updates available.
And it can get flummoxed. It can “hang” on to the last data it had, and think you have one AV when in fact you have another. (There is a fairly easy reset to work through if this ever happens to you.)
The security provided by your ISP is unlikely to be made by your ISP, but a known suite re-branded. AOL, for example, were providing a suite at one stage. It went through different incarnations, sometimes with the Kaspersky antivirus, sometimes with McAfee. I don’t know what it is now (if any.)
The point is, though you might not know the “brand name” of the security software you had, because your ISP probably rebranded it, it might actually be important to make sure it is properly removed.
Any more questions? 