Hi bob!
before running the SFC program, I managed to get rid of the taskbar buttons problem, just by exiting and then restarting the said applications and it seems to be working as expected (for now atleast), so I couldn't really test your suggestion on that, sorry...
On the other had the notification area problem still persists after successfully running the SFC program and rebooting.
And regarding your advice to take a look at the virus/spyware.. section,
I did and found some very good guidance material there, but, with me being a slightly, above average windows user (especially in keeping my OS clean), I already practice most of those methods, so nothing new for me there
so what now? any more suggestions as to the cause of the problem?
just a note: I usually google away my problems and manage to solve them successfully, but somehow, the solution to the above problems evade me