Java dont work

I have a Sony Vaio desktop, 512mb ram, 1.5ghz running windows xp sp3 home edition. Yesterday my antivirus program alerted me of a virus and I removed it and performed a full scan and removed traces (also a spyware scan). After, I went to do an online scan and it said that I did not have Java or it wasn't configured properly. I checked the configuration ( made sure Java script was enabled, use JRE checked, and IE was checked for browser ) and still had the problem ( also checking on another site that uses Java ). So I uninstalled then re-installed Java, still had the problem. Then I reinstalled Internet Explorer and I still have this problem. Can anyone please help ? Thanks, Herb