Computer Viruses!

Who doesn't hate them? They randomly pop up on your screen and disable you from using the internet and of course.. damaging your computer! I encountered 2 at around 1 something pm today. A fake windows action center and Windows 7 Home Security 2011. Luckily I removed it about 30 minutes ago! I had a program that can delete .exe files (which are usually what the viruses are) but then when I tried to open my internet browsers or even my folders.. the .exe was gone since I had to delete it in order to get rid of the virus. Luckily I knew how to restore it but alas my computer shut down because it wasn't entirely gone.. so I used the restore option that my computer recommended so that the computer would go back to its earlier state when the virus wasn't there yet so I think that's what really solved it :)