How do I turn virus protection back on for XP after all updated installations?

Hello forum,

 

I've had a problem with my Hotmail account for about a week.  I can't open an activity on my personal calendar.  No matter how much I click, I can not open.  Also, the actual email messages are hard to load (if at all).  There appear dots on the top of the screen that move from left to right.  I believe I may have a virus that was not caught with my virus protection.

What help is there to correct this?  I have even retyped msn.com in the bar to start over, but that didn't work.

 

Thanks in advance if someone may know.

 

Gary

I understand that to check or change the Virus Protection Features in Windows Live Mail I need to click MENUS and then click SAFETY OPTIONS etc. My question is WHERE does the the MENU BUTTON appear on the screen ? 
I have received a couple of emails from "Windows Live" saying that it has detected a virus in my email folders and MSN will shut down my account unless i provide information such as full name, date of birth, user name, password, country etc. so that it can install a new version of virus protection.  Is this a legitimate request or a scam?