Will Renkel wrote:

> PUTER: W2k (yeah its old - but its a backup and works)
> Zonealarm
> Avast
> Cygwin
> 
> Yesterday for unknown reasons I could not view anything on the internet.
> Avast is blocked in Zonealarm (asks for permission - which I allow when
update)
> NOTE: I block any/all programs that like to go to the internet on their own!
> Only shield active in Avast is WEB
> 
> It started to work OK when I turned off that Web Shield.
> Any idea why that would happen?
> Like Avast database out of date or clobbered?

Avast, free or paid, as well as many other security softwares, will
expire after awhile, like a year.  You get to use the free version or
subscribe to a version for a year.  After that, the product expires.
They want to make money on the subscription model.  They don't want to
support old versions in the free model.  Avast will run a bit after its
expiration, like maybe 14 months after the 12-month expiration, but it
does expire.  So uninstall it and use something else that is newer, or
let it update its program version.

Avast and many other security softwares may not support the long dead
Windows 2000.  Mainstream support died back in 2005.  Extended support
died back in 2010.  Check with Avast or with whomever's security
software you want to use to see if they still support Windows 2000.

If you use a firewall to prevent an anti-virus program from updating its
malware database then why bother installing an anti-virus program?
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2