program failure

Check the Event Viewer in the Administration Tools in the Control Panel and look in the Applications viewer to see if this displays any error records. I would browse to the folder where the software is installed, and try and open it from there, it is usually an .exe file. If it does the same thing and closes itself, then you may have to reinstall the application. Have you the disk for the software? Many of the Anti-Virus CDs usually have a reinstall or repair option, check it. Finally check for viruses, as they can cause you problems. Let me know how you fare.

viruses tend to distaract the wway anti-virus software run. they disable some features so that they cant run.

Remove/repair your antivirus software. in the event that u remove it successfully, re-istall, update and scan your computer.

Do you have problems opening a lot of different programs? I would recommend using an online anti-virus. This will bypass any viruses that are disabling your anti-virus. I like trend micro. www.trendmicro.com Also check for spyware with adaware and spybot search and destroy.