Junita, Please comnsider easing into this. By your description, your new system is extremely powerful and has an abundance of available rsources. Could it be that your haste and concern in paring all your targets is a byproduct of your previous system? I personally tended to act that way when I purchased the new one. I haven't read any reports of great concern with the Vista firewall. It is bi-directional and apparently works adequately. I left my Windows Defender enabled and update it regularly. Again from what I read it performs more than adequately. With a new quad core system resources and power are more than plentiful to run it in the background. I took Norton off the first day. If you feel it is indeed necessary to modify your startup below are a few links which may assist you. http://www.answersthatwork.com/ http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php DA

I too had to get rid of the "free" Norton software that came with the most recent computer. I think that the success of Norton and other ultra-hyped software of similar nature is the result of "tests" done by PC Magazine, PC World and similar publications. I just searched PC Magazine's Reviews for "Norton" and it produced a lengthy set of values, comparing the magazine's ratings with those of readers. Many of the magazine's ratings were in the 4.0 to 4.5 but those of users were anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5. The magazine also bestowed "Editor's Choice" awards for many of the Norton products. So who do you trust - the printed hype that gets ad dollars from the software company or readers?

First of all, a sincere thank you to each of you. The situation has been resolved. Norton contacted me this afternoon. The problem has to do with the Norton Firewall, and appears to have been fixed. If the problem recurs, I am to uninstall the Norton program and re-install it. Upon learning of my experience with i Yogi, the Norton representative explained that i Yogi has a redialer that sends your Norton call to them. i Yogi is a TOTAL SCAM. For those experiencing similar problenms in future, the Norton representative assures me that this toll-free number will get you to the real Norton Support people. 1(800)745-6061 When we go through the internet to get to Norton, even if we are entering through the Norton site, i Yogi can intercept the call. Again, my sincerest thanks for your time and attention to my problem. :O)

My XP laptop used microsofts OneCare for two years and it was by far the most simple no brainer Firewall, Anti-Virus, active spyware. It's a $50 annual subscription or online can be found for about half that. I fiddled with the bunch of freewares and probably installed/uninstalled or tried all of the more popular ones. Myself and the xp laptop are now believers in simple fully functional stuff... that you dont have to fiddle with; AVG Anti-Virus, Windows Defender anti-spyware & maybe not for everybody, the old Sygate Personal Firewall. Which you have to search for probably at download.com . It was bought by one of the biggies but the old freeware version is still popular and quite a decent firewall.