You do not need to start Firefox in safe mode. If it always starts in safe mode, see Firefox is stuck in Troubleshoot Mode.

I am not intentionally starting it in safe mode. It did that automatically after the virus was removed.

My question was is it OK for me to get OUT of safe mode now? Or do I risk exposing myself to something? Microsoft told me I may have gotten the virus from my browser (of course it's not their product). Thanks.

Safe mode disables extensions and reset some other settings like toolbars. Plugins are still enabled in current Firefox 3.6 versions in Safe-mode.

Which extensions do you have?

Help > Troubleshooting Information

You would normally not get a virus directly via Firefox. You can of course always download malware and viruses and run such a program to get infected. Plugins with security vulnerabilities also can do harm. If your AV software doesn't catch such programs then you are out of luck and may need to seek help from experts on forums that specialize in malware removal.

1. I'm not sure what an extension is 2. The virus is gone now

I'm sort of wondering why Firefox went into safety mode (maybe it detected that there was a virus present?), but more to the point, I just wanted to know if it is now OK to take it out of safe mode? Now that the virus is gone.

Thanks again.

Sure, there is no need to run Firefox in Safe mode. It may have happened because the shortcut was changed at some point as posted in the Firefox is stuck in Troubleshoot Mode article.

See also Find and install add-ons to add features to Firefox