Error Cleaner, Privacy Protector, Spyware/Malware Protection

Hi. I'm new to MajorGeeks, and after reading a couple of posts I think my issue is an old one, possibly downloaded with an ActiveX download. But, I, too, now have these 3 icons on my desktop that will NOT go away. I've run the windows virus scan and it found them, but could not deal with them. It said it was deleted, but the 3 icons (Error Cleaner, Privacy Protector and Spyware and Malware Protection) still appear. Constant messages popping up and system very slow...task manager is also nonfunctional. I'm am SO the novice at this. Advice? Try to follow the previous posts when/if they were successful, or has some genius out there come up with a simpler way to get rid of this mess? Sorry to ask, but like I said, I know very little about the workings of my system other than the software I use for work! A little intimidating. Help anyone? Thanks in advance for your expertise and time! Tina