McAfee configuration?

I have recently installed McAfee Personal Firewall and ActiveShield. Since then I've had a few problems. 1- When I try to connect with the internet I get 'this page has expired or is currently experiencing difficulty'. When checking email, it tells me that the server smpt and pop3 can't be found. I went to mcafee config to fix it, but those programs aren't there to fix. 2- I close all running in the background programs to defrag by going Start>Run>msconfig>general>special startup. Now I can't get the normal start up to respond. This leaves the graphics on my 'puter way messed up. HELLLP!
PS I can't get McAfee tech support to respond, either!

I'm sorry I don't have a roadmap that will enable you to get McAfee Personal Firewall (MPF) and ActiveShield to do the job they're intended to do. I subscribed to MPF and ActiveShield and worked for about 18 months to get them to work properly without crashes and conflicts. I first gave up and uninstalled MPF and later did the same with ActiveShield. I'm convinced that on a couple of occasions the antivirus updates downloaded from McAfee disabled ActiveShield and forced me to uninstall it and reinstall it to get it to work.

My recommendation is to abandon MPF and install ZoneAlarm (free) here:
http://www.zonelabs.com/

Also abandon ActiveShield and install InoculateIT (also free) here:
http://antivirus.cai.com/

I still had over 6 months remaining on my McAfee subscriptions but it is definitely worth absorbing the loss to get the outstanding replacements listed above without out all the crashes and conflicts associated with the McAfee products.

You'll find that most of the very knowledgeable persons who post here on VirtualDr agree that ZoneAlarm and InoculateIT are the top one or two applications for firewall and antivirus respectively no matter what you're willing to pay and they are free. They are definitely exceptions to the old adage the "you get what you pay for."


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Larry
Seattle WA

Post script to my posting above.

I recommend that you go to the Windows 98 forum just above and start a new thread and repost the problem of getting your computer up and running. You'll get more help there.

By hindsight, I'm concerned that my focus on your firewall and antivirus problem may interfere with the first job at hand--getting you computer minimally functional again. The windows 98 forum is much more active and an appropriate place to get help in getting your computer running again.

Hint: give the posting a slightly different name. Some of the moderators frown on exact duplicate postings.

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Larry
Seattle WA