Ok, let me just start this by saying i am OVERLY paranoid about this on a regular basis... but with good reason as my husband is a computer programer by profession.

So... that being said...

i was told that there is no way to make a laptop 100% secure due to the BIOS/Safe Mode areas. i have passwords every which way and every small space i can find other then those two areas. I was told, at one point, how to put a password in BOIS. Each time i have tried i am beeped at (in a none to polite manner) and the password has been refused. The other night i was told that if i remove my battery and let the BOIS system loose it's charge then it will reset it's self automatically. So... i did that the other morning and left it for over 4 hours. Since that point though my system has been running slower and acting odd. (Not booting properly, not loading browsers properly, etc.) PLUS i still can't password protect the BOIS.

My BIGGEST concern is spyware on my system. I run three spyware programs, a window washer, an adware program, clear history, cookies, etc. etc. etc... so the windows (operating) portion of my system is not my concern. The concern is someone having put a spyware program on my system through the BOIS/Safe Mode areas. Is there a way to check and see if any thing is hidden either in BOIS or Safe Mode? Where would i look? If nothing else even being able to check a time stamp periodically would help create a piece of mind because i would know when someone was on other then myself. (I am the ONLY one that should be using my system!)

What other steps could i take to make the system secure?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!