I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this; feel free to fling as necessary.

I have a TON of stuff running in my Windows Task Manager (the little box that comes up when ctrl-alt-delete is pressed). What can I safely close out of without harming my computer or closing any antivirus/spyware detector things?

List:

realsched.exe
hpgs2wnd.exe
sdmcp.exe
hpgs2wnf.exe
ashDisp.exe
explorer.exe
Directcd.exe
atiptaxx.exe
swdoctor.exe
wuauclt.exe
netscape.exe (using)
msiexec.exe
cisvc.exe
ashServ.exe
cidaemon.exe
taskmgr.exe
ashMaiSv.exe
msmsgs.exe
spoolsv.exe
ashWebSv.exe
svchost.exe (x4)
lsass.exe
services.exe
wdfmgr.exe
winlogon.exe
csrss.exe
svchost.exe (again!)
smss.exe
sdhelp.exe
ewidoctrl.exe
SAgent2.exe

Check This Thread: http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread40595.html for a neat program. It shuts down all running processes, except for those that are required for windows to run stable. It also does NOT shut down services (such as AVG, Norton, or anything else that is a service).

Norton 2006 will solve all kinds of problems, like
virus,worms,trojans,adwares,

now since it comes with other updates to OS... it also clears the previous problems with OS.

? What does that have to do with required tasks for windows to operate?

Since this is not a tip or tweak so I'm moving this thread to Windows 2000/XP section.

Again, I'd like to state that Norton A/V is one hell of a bloated app. It may be good, but the performance trade-off is unacceptable. You could try other free A/V apps like AVG and Avast! A/V