After downloading and running different security freeware programs recommended here, I've settled on the following combination:
Firewall: Zone Alarm Pro
Anti-virus: AVG Free
Anti-spyware/malware:
Resident programs SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard
On-demand programs: Spybot with Tea-Timer disabled
AdAware
Ewido with resident shield disabed
a2
The above so far seem effective and no conflcts as of yet.
My objective is to get (quoting one moderator here) a "solid wall of security" as is possible, having spent many hours undoing damage to infected computers. My question is; have I missed something? Any recommendations to improve/change/add to the above? I ask in all humility as everything I know about computers was learned through forums and tutorials on this website, and I have a long way to go.
Thanks in advance for any imput.

Well, you certainly have learned well, and you have a very solid moat around your hard drive. While everyone has personal preferences about applications, you have chosen very good ones.
Regards,
John

jgweed,
I contemplated downloading Spywareblaster and/or Spywareguard but thought they would just "double up" on what Ad-Aware and Spybot provided? No?

What an application searches for,TMacK, and therefore will potentially find, depends on the set of criteria decided upon by the companies creating it. Until the criteria become standardised, having multiple applications is certainly useful in keeping your computer clean, since one spyware application may find something the others missed. How many one uses, and whether one gets enough "bang for the buck" by adding applications is perhaps as much a matter of one's browsing habits and the extent one follows best security practices as it is anything else.
Regards,
John

Thanx for your advise jgweed,
I guess one can never have too many applications when it comes to security,no matter how safe one tries to browse.
I do like the idea of having Fort Knox around my HD!