[BADROTOFINGER]

Your desktop is probably set to 'Auto-Arrange' your icons. Right click on the desktop and change it...JFK

[shezza]

Are you logged in?

(I'm sorry, but somebody had to do it.)

[ironman]

Rightclick desktop, select properties, then desktop then customize desktop. Desktop cleanup is at the bottom.

[Redcloak]

Perhaps a menehune has been playing with your computer.

[phoenix0468]

I also run Outpost firewall on block most mode.

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This is probably your best bet. If you are hacked you may have logs of what IP addresses your computer is communicating with. You can copy these and go to www.samspade.org to see where they originate. If they originate from ApNic (Asia Pacific Network) you are possibly hacked. Also, you can do a netstat from the command line and see what connections are made to your computer through most protocols. Here again you can copy IP addresses and which protocols are being used in communicatios with your computer. Again go to sam spade and google to see if these IP's originate from a rought network such as ApNic or the protocols are uncommon. I.E. if someone is using a P2P type of protocol to connect to you. This may indicate that your computer has been hijacked and is being used unscrupulously.

[coconutt2000]

Are you logged into the admin user on your machine or a secondary user?

You may not be able to retain changes to the desktop icons for that reason, or because of a corrupted Windows file that keeps track of the desktop icon placements.

Another thing to try is to boot up in safe mode, move the icons, reboot into safe mode and see if the changes are retained.

When all else fails, kill a chicken and put a sledgehammer next to the computer's CPU unit... then read an issue of MacWorld and surf Apple's web site checking out the prices on the new $500 Mac Mini...

If that doesn't motivate the demon in your machine, exorcise it with Holy Water, but I recommend you stand back if you plan on leaving the power on when you douse the machine with the sanctified water... ;-)

Okay, I'm sorry... It doesn't sound like you've been hacked.

[Roses0508]

You can download a trial copy of The Cleaner which will locate and remove any Trojan Horses or zombie software.

I don't know your firewall, maybe some one else does. I have used Zone Alarm since they came on the market and would recommend it for a home user since I know it does the job and doesn't mess with other software.

Is it possible for you to upgrade to XP?