Computer problem with updates

I am using Windows XP with Avast anti-virus. I also use ZoneAlarm firewall and Malwarebytes anti-malware. I am seeking help with the following, which may be due to a virus or malware:

If I do this:

1. go to 'Start', click on 'Control Panel' and click on 'Security Center'

2. under 'Automatic Updates', in the middle of the window, it says 'Automatic Updates is turned off'

3. but if I click on 'Automatic Updates' under 'Virus Protection', near the bottom of the window, the 'Automatic' button appears to be switched on

Can anyone tell me if the updates are on or off?

Thank you in advance if you can help with this.

Easy Livin wrote: I'm probably completely off the mark here, but could it be that you have automatic updates turned on for your virus scanner, but not for Windows?

That's actually pretty much what it sounds like. Windows recognises your anti-virus program and monitors its' updating process, so if you've got auto-update set for your anti-vir, it'll show on windows panel. It might not have windows security on autoupdate though, those are two different things. You should check out the updating windows in the control panel and try that. If it's up to date, you might want to try deleting your antivirus program and reinstalling it or trying something different. XP is an old UI, so the newer versions of some programs might have hard time adjusting first, but after a few updates it should be ok.

It's a good advice to keep the computer updating itself, though, and notifying about it too so that you'll know what's going on.