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Welcome to the forums, metaxa!
For the updates problem, try this:
Right click the "a" ball on task bar > click on Program Settings... > click on Update[Connections] in left pane > checkmark second option and not first option > click OK.
As far as ZA Free is concerned, I think you are misunderstanding their message. My old computer, which I still use, is running W98SE and the ZA Free firewall without a problem. So, your computer should also be OK with this.
I hope this helps you.
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