Installed Zone Alarm firewall, and received this notice from avast:
"We have found out that the avast! WebShield module has compatibility problems with the ZoneAlarm's privacy blocking features.
This may result in some web pages not loading properly or an inability to log on to certain sites (such as Yahoo mail etc.) We are working together with the ZoneLabs team to find a viable solution.
Meanwhile, we recommend turning off the transparent proxy mode of the WebShiels module which is known to be the cause of the conflict. You will still be able to use WebShield with ZoneAlarm by manually configuring your browser."
I clicked the auto configure box that comes with the message and POOF! no more probs accessing internet.
Hope this helps someone else.
fiziksguy