Actually, Java will only advise you of updates and/or run automatic updates if you have it set up to do so. If you’ve elected to run updates manually, then you obviously need to be diligent about checking for them. The current version is Java 6 update 30 – since you're only at 6.21, you clearly need to either change your update settings or be more disciplined about your manual updates. Go to the Java website to get the current update.

Which anti-virus/anti-malware package are you running? Do you keep it up-to-date on a constant real-time basis? Is it part of a security suite that includes a firewall? If you’re connecting anywhere other than your own well-secured wifi router, then you should definitely be running security suite.

If you’re not running at least an anti-virus package, then you can only blame yourself for the infection. There are a lot of excellent paid security suites out there—you can check out PC Magazine’s latest reviews, for example. Most of the new security suites are pretty much dummy-proof, and there are even a few very decent freeware packages, so there's really no excuse not to have one if you don't already.

As others have pointed out, there is no browser that can protect you fully from exploits. It just so happens, however, that Firefox is one of the least vulnerable. But it needs to be properly maintained. You need to keep it updated.

You also need to keep your add-ons updated. For instance, do you know whether you have the most current version of ....... Plus and the most recent version of your subscription filter(s)? Are you aware that there are multiple filter subscriptions for ......., each designed for different regions/languages/site types? Go to the EasyList/....... website and review the filter list. Subscribe to all of the filters that might be relevant to your surfing habits.

That said, as has already been mentioned, ....... is only one small piece of a better-secured computer. Research some of the other great add-ons out there, including Ghostery (we run it as a supplement to ....... Plus, but running both can make some websites a bit wonky); BetterPrivacy (blocks so-called super cookies), and Flashblock (allows you to control when flash does/doesn’t run on a page-by-page or site-by-site basis). There are many others.

You might also want to consider installing something like SpywareBlaster to block malicious cookies and ActiveX spyware on both IE and FF.