Yes, McAfee is an incoming and outgoing firewall, although you can change a setting so that you're not notified if a program attempts to access the Internet (but that's not advised). Basically, the built-in Windows firewall is better than nothing at all, but not by much. If you want real protection, get the McAfee, especially since your ISP offers it at no cost to you. Until you get the McAfee installed, you should at least be using the Windows firewall. But as soon as you install McAfee, you should disable the Windows firewall.

owbist, Thanks, it was just me being stupid, not reading what was before my eyes. Yes, Microsoft's Windows Security Manager did show a firewall was on, and it was/is Zonealarm. I didn't expect MS to be so open as to say some FW other than theirs was active. I'm at a meeting and grumbled to my neighbor at the table, he looked over and said: "it says Zone Alarm is on".

you need to tell us which version of windows you are using before we can really answer that question. If using Vista or windows 7 it is a decent firewall, however using a stand alone software firewall usually always gives you better protection and settings. Is your computer behind a router? most routers also have a hardware firewall in them which will give you some extra protection. Having both a software and hardware firewall is the best.

Sorry, I was talking about an XP desktop. I managed to get it installed without having to accept their search and toolbar. I went to the website forums and there were complaints about not being able to install without accepting their terms. Someone posted a way around it and I tried it and it worked. When you run the installer, if you do not check the two boxes for the search and home page, the 'accept' button will not work. If you try 'custom install' it still won't work without checking the two boxes. At the bottom left of the screen, under their name, there is a small dark line which says 'skip offer'. I never saw it as it is almost the same color as the background and tiny. A nice person, on the website discovered it and posted the solution. Worked perfectly! I hope this helps anyone trying to update to the latest version. Thanks for all the help, Jane