Expert: James Filmer - 3/9/2009

Question
Hello -- Our computers are very slow, I think because of firewall overkill.  We have Windows XP but also a router.  Even my home page (NYTimes) is an "unknown zone."  Please, how do I figure out where the 2nd firewall is and how to get it to "lighten up"?  When I try to put trusted sites into XP it says no, only "https" sites allowed.  Thank you -- Scott

Answer
Making your computers run faster and putting trusted sites into XP may not be related.  But, if you're right about firewall overkill, the best info is directly from the source:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875356

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wfintro.mspx

Not sure what you mean by 2nd firewall. Are you saying you can't find the router info or can't access Windows Firewall? When you try to put trusted sites into XP, do you mean into IE?
Which IE and XP versions are you using?

Also, http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc875816.aspx
has info about Windows Firewall in a Small Business Environment Using Group Policy. Even though it's dated 2004, it has links to more current info.

And: http://www.firewallguide.com/ as you may wish to consider a third party firewall at some point.