Buggy Laptop

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I think I downloaded a virus onto my new laptop a couple weeks back because I didn't check one URL properly. I didn't think it mattered because I had Norton and Lenovo, but now it's becoming harder to use my computer, especially when I'm online. What should I do? Should I tell my parents since I still live with them?

Download this, and see if it finds anything. Now, it's geared specifically towards spyware, adware, PUPs, and Trojan horses, but those are much more common nowadays than traditional viruses. http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details ... final.html

Also, run this afterwards to clean up any stragglers: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

Which version of Norton are you running? If it's just Norton Security Scan, you're going to need a better antivirus tool. Avast is great, and it does an awesome job of blocking incoming threats. http://www.avast.com/en-ca/index

I forgot to mention that I can't update my Adobe for some reason. Any thoughts?

A lot of malware will literally trash your registry in an attempt to prevent you from even being able to launch or install the programs needed to remove them. Sometimes even after its removed the trash is still left behind.. ccleaner can remove a lot of the junk but sometimes reloading a registry backup or doing an in place reinstall is the only solution (in a few instances I've had to format and reinstall the OS from scratch).

If it was me once I was fairly certain I had removed the malware I would uninstall the faulting application, run a ccleaner registry scan and delete all then try to reinstall.

It usually works.

[edit] Oh I forgot to mention Adobe products are notorious for being targeted for malware popups that pretend to be an update to flash or whatever product but really just installs more malware. Always check the address its coming from or if in doubt go to the adobe site manually and try to update.

How do I enable cookies on Internet Explorer?

In internet options under the privacy tab theres a slider to change to different presets. The lower the slider the more permissive it is towards cookies and other tracking objects.

There's also an advanced button for finer control.