I have a problem with Internet Explorer on Windows XP (with Service Pack 2 but no other updates). At a seemingly random time, I get an error, with a pop-up window saying "Generic Host Process for Win32 Services" has closed. The EventType is BEX and P1 is svchost.exe. The error report (if I sent it to Microsoft) would contain two temporary files, svchost.exe.mdmp and appcompat.txt.
I did have a problem with pop-up windows containing adverts, but for some reason I started getting this error instead. Running Spybot found quite a lot of bots on my laptop and removed them (Rotue being the most persistent).
Maybe I should have downloaded updates from Microsoft and/or installed a virus checker, but I prefered to put up with a computer that was generally working than risk introducing more problems that may lead to me needing to reinstall Windows (especially since I haven't got a functioning CD/DVD drive and have some expensive software that I no longer have the discs for).
Could someone please suggest the least risky way I can solve this problem?
Thanks in advance,
Steve.