Microsoft-esque problems on my Mac?

Question

G'day, all. Have owned my first Mac for almost a fortnight now, and am generally loving it. That having been said, I have a few issues I need to be walked through, as I still don't understand the OS well enough to intelligently explore it without potential problems.
First, I'd experienced frequent crashes of Safari...I switched to the Safari Beta, but it still just locks and crashes. Frustrated, I went to Firefox. The only thing that makes IT any better is that my previous pages show up when I restart my Web browser; otherwise, it tends to do the same thing. What gives? I've tried running the diagnostics and built-in 'repair tools,' but it doesn't seem to have done much good.
Next, when I tried to switch from Firefox to Safari (thinking the browser was acting up), I kept getting multiple blank pages on Firefox, and had to close it down with a Force Quit. When I then tried to open Safari, not only would it not open, but the wallpapers on both monitors switched every time I clicked on the Safari icon to try to open it (the black arrow would flash a few times and quit). Though that happened only once (for about 3 minutes), it hasn't re-occurred...yet. Any ideas here?
Finally, being a paranoid former-PC owner, naturally I had to get antivirus (Norton, sans the troublesome packet), security and other programs up and running (Mac Cleanse, Mac Scanner and IP Securitas) early on. Could any of these be causing the aforementioned problems, and if so, can they be worked-around without losing the protection they give?
BTW, I also use a hardware firewall, which hasn't given any difficulty so far.
Finally, someone mentioned I might want to run a program called Vidalia. I can't figure it out, and want to know if it's needed.
Forgive my reprinting War and Peace, but I can't find answers I can understand anywhere else, and I'm a graphic designer/writer, not a UNIX pro. Kudos to any and all who can ease my learning curve.
Chuck

Answer 1

'Ello, Klaus, and thanks for the prompt reply. I'm a hard-won convert to Mac-dom (since I got serious about graphic design), and decided to dive in head-first, as it were. For the most part, it's been a hard slog to get up to speed on Mac OS X, but it's worth it for the speed and beauty I have now.
Did as you suggested, but none of the files you mentioned were in the Safari folder, or any other such folder. I use a widget in Dashboard to keep my permissions proper and empty the cache and cookies after each session, so maybe I've inadvertently done what you asked.(?)
Hasn't happened in about 5 hours now, and I've just finished installing all the OS X updates and Adobe CS3 Premium, so I must be ok for now. (Now that I've said that...) But I digress.
The router has long been a fixture for me, as I know that the best defense is a good offense. I've had no conflicts between the router and the Mac previously, so I'm assuming I'm still good there. The other programs all came highly-recommended from either Apple or MacWorld or CNet, so I generally tend to trust 'em...just guess I won't use them so often, eh? (Some of it has to do with privacy issues and not wanting anyone but me in my computer, even though there's nothing but intellectual property there - 'nothing but' - hahaha.)
Anyway, back to the point. The Safari folder only had 3 files in it, history and two others that I can't name right now, but that had nothing like the names you gave me, so I left them be.
As to Vidalia, it's a privacy program, and that's about all I know so far, though inputs and opinions on it would be MOST welcome!
I went to //tor.eff.org for info after reading of it in MacWorld magazine, though the following in parenths came from its site:
(Tor: anonymity online............Tor is a toolset for a wide range of organizations and people that want to improve their safety and security on the Internet. Using Tor can help you anonymize web browsing and publishing, instant messaging, IRC, SSH, and other applications that use the TCP protocol. Tor also provides a platform on which software developers can build new applications with built-in anonymity, safety, and privacy features.
Tor aims to defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal anonymity and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security. Communications are bounced around a distributed network of servers called onion routers, protecting you from websites that build profiles of your interests, local eavesdroppers that read your data or learn what sites you visit, and even the onion routers themselves.
Tor's security is improved as its user base grows and as more people volunteer to run servers. Please consider volunteering your time or volunteering your bandwidth. And remember that this is development code—while we believe Tor is better than all the other options out there at what it does, it's still not a good idea to rely on any current anonymity systems if you really need strong anonymity.)
Would like to continue 'chatting' via email if you don't mind, off-topic (I lived in Oxford for some years whilst stationed there). I'm at [email protected]. Cheers!
Chuck