Virus troubles

[sbr]

In the last 2-3 months I have been infected with the XP Home Security 2012 malware (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-win-7-antispyware-2012) twice.  I have been able to remove it without too much trouble each time but, needless to say I am getting a bit annoyed.  Both times were on sites that I had considered safe.  One was a forum that I had ~1,000 posts in the last 5-6 years (though there were a lot of pop-up ads on the site) and the other time was a web Sudoku site where I have done 1,000's of puzzles in the same time period with no previous hint of trouble.  I haven't been to either site since I was infected by it, the forum I could live without but I would very very disappointed to lose my favorite Web Sudoku site.

After getting things cleared up I re-installed and ran Secunia PSI which showed some unpatched and vulnerable programs.  I got most of them fixed but there are a few problems left.  One is PostgreSQL, when I tried to update it asked me for a password, I have no clue what any existing password might be, I don't remember installing this program.  I have no idea what this is or if I need it.  The rest are the 2000 version of all of Microsoft's Office Suite which are considered end of life.  Secunia is showing Microsoft PowerPoint and Access as very vulnerable, the rest as moderately.  My kids still use PowerPoint here at home for homework so I don't really want to get rid of it completely yet.

I use the free avast! AV, which is always up to date and usually turned on (I occasionally forget to turn it back on after gaming, but I am 99% certain it was on and active both times I was infected).  I don't use any firewall other than what is inherent in XP and my router.

So:

1. Any advice on avoiding this again, other than what I already do?
2. Do I need to avoid these sites completely, or could this have been a one time thing?
3. What the hell is PostgreSQL?  How would I figure out a password to update it?  Can I uninstall it?
4.  How about the Microsoft programs?  Are they really that vulnerable?  Do I need to upgrade to the newer versions?

Thanks in advance for reading and any help.

[Grey Fox]

Do you have Skype? That might be where PostgreSQL might be from.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Postgre is a database.  Variant of the Standard QUery Language.  Don't know why you'd have it installed, don't use Skype so I wouldn't know if that uses it. 

Make sure that the Windows Firewall is actually on.  Get smething like Malwarebytes that will protect against malware and spyware. Virus programs can offer some protection, but they won't always catch everything.

As far as the current infection goes, the safe thing to do would be to wipe your drive and re-install Windows from scratch.  Some of this stuff gets in and doesn't get out. 

[Razgovory]

Virus and malware are really getting bad these days.  I seem to pick them up with alarming frequency these days.  My dad keeps picking up the ones where they give you a fake virus alert and then ask you for your credit card information.  Fortunately I stopped him before he actually gave them credit card information.  I think some of those are being put out by organized crime syndicates.

[HisMajestyBOB]

A good browser (Firefox, Chrome, or at least IE9) with Adblock helps a lot.
Even good, legit sites can get infected with malware, at least briefly, and then pass it on to you.
Plus lots of sites like Mediafire, where a lot of people upload mods and stuff, have shitty malware-infected ads. One misclick and if your software isn't up-to-date, bam.