TheBanyanTree: Where do they go?

[Pat Martin]

I have a computer situation that baffles me.  Can anyone shed some light on it?

My computer has a Sygate personal firewall installed (set on 'normal').  It also has McAfee and AVG free.  

Every morning when I turn on my computer, a box comes up that says AVG is scanning my incoming emails.  But there's a problem. While AVG scans 5 emails, only three or four appear in my inbox.  

My daughter sent me an email three days ago that has not appeared in my inbox but it shows as having been successfully sent.  I have no way of knowing what other emails have gone astray.  So... where do the missing emails go?  

And the other thing that worries me is that I sometimes get a message that someone is scanning my computer and it gives me the IP? address, such as 222.38.148.19..  Does this mean a hacker is looking over my files?  How can I find out where this IP address is located?

Okay... so I'm technically challenged.  Can't help it; it's just me.  Any insights would be appreciated.

Pat Martin