Ok, neither of those problems are Vista’s fault, and you could have easily had the same thing happen in XP.
1. I will assume you are using office 07 (if not, upgrade). Click on the windows logo in the top left and then choose Word Options (at the bottom of the menu that pops up). Go to “Display” and uncheck everything under “Always show these formatting marks on the screen”.
2. I am guessing you are using either norton 360 or norton internet security. First, download Symantec Endpoint Protection FREE from WCU (http://www.wcu.edu/10695.asp), it is made by the same company as the norton garbage but never expires and is much less resource intensive. Then, Go to Start -> control panel -> programs & features, find what you are using and uninstall it (you will probably have to restart). Next, Download the norton removal tool here: http://majorgeeks.com/Norton_Removal_Tool_d4749.html and run it. Then, restart and install Symantec Endpoint Protection you just downloaded, and you should be good to go.