Reply #1: Are you using the free version of AVG?

[Redneck Socialist]

If so then it does different things than Spybot. I'm not a tech guy, nor do I play one on the internets, but AVG doesn't clean cookies which is what Spybot does among other things.

As for the update thing your "computer fellow" may have changed your update settings to "ask before install" (don't know the exact phraseology) rather than the custom set up you had before. If you have XP go into "my computer --> change a setting --> security center --> automatic updates then tick "turn off automatic updates" to change it back.

Hope this helps.