I don't know what to do about firewall protection. We've tried using the one in Windows XP, but it causes problems with our dial-up connection. The ISP support personnel have had me turn it on, turn it off, on, off.... We tried ZoneAlarm, but had problems with it, too. The ISP said not to use it. What should I do?

Norton Personal Firewall works very well, and includes preconfigured rules for a multitude of applications. It is important to use LiveUpdate after installation to obtain the program and security updates (run LiveUpdate repeatedly until no additional updates appear).

I am using Zone Alarm and Windows XP. Have had no problems at all. No clue why your computer is misbehaving! From word of mouth, I have heard Zone Alarm is the best. I would give it another try.