Routers normally have a firewall which protects against incoming attacks. In a setup with a router, all any personal firewall software will really do is block any unauthorised outgoing communication. For example, if the av software misses a trojan, your first warning might be some unknown program asking for access to the internet.

Really I don't know why the laptop is unable to acquire an IP address - as long as there's no connectivity issue. Normally the windows default TCP/IP settings will work, and it will automatically acquire an IP address from the router. How it works is the router has a DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol) server on it which is responsible for assigning IP addresses to any devices that connect to it. Windows firewall has never caused any issue with this for me. You can force Windows to acquire a new IP address by using the terminal commands IPCONFIG /RELEASE then IPCONFIG /RENEW. Use IPCONFIG /ALL to confirm that it's successfully got an IP address.

I used to use Zone Alarm freefirewall software,but it was slowing down my PC. I have switched to Comodo firewall - also free and much, much faster.

Comodo Personal Firewall

Cheers guys. I had lots of issues, partly because my laptop is now 8 years old & has a Ralink network card in it which is pretty old technology and now unsupported by the manufacturer. Even WPA2 was an effort (WEP only) and required updates and seperate utility software. One day I shall upgrade, but always loath to chuck anything away which still works! Can now highly recommend Netgear DGND3700 router.

I've suddenly got flickering ghostly diagonal lines on my 22" TFT monitor powered by Windows 7 64 bit.

It's a bit like watching a 1940s movie.

Any thoughts anyone, please?

Try this:
TFT Monitor with Fuzzy Display
TFT Monitor fuzzy display problems are almost always caused by one (or more) or the following issues:

•Wrong display resolution. As mentioned elsewhere, TFT Monitors must be configured to use their Native Resolution in the PCs display settings. Failing to do this will always cause the display to be fuzzy or blurred - or to have jagged edges on diagonal lines and a 'lumpy' looking display.
•Poor adjustment. If the display resolution is correct, then the monitor has to be correctly adjusted to get the best picture quality. This is usually only an issue with analogue monitors. If the digital (DVI) input is used, then further adjustment of the monitor should not be required. Initially, the monitors "Auto-Adjustment" can be used to try and improve the display quality. This is best used with a program producing a test pattern of vertical lines, with a single pixel white border showing the exact edge of the screen. Given this, most monitors will auto-adjust perfectly well. If the display is still not perfect, a very slight manual adjustment will usually achieve the expected quality.
•Poor quality cables. Analogue monitors are susceptible to signal degradation from either poor quality or excessively long signal cables. Also, joining or extending cables is likely to cause ghosting effects on the display, usually seen as light and dark vertical lines.
•Faulty graphics cards or other component. Sometimes, replacing a CRT monitor with a TFT monitor requires the display resolution be set higher than was previously in use. We have seen a number of systems with older graphics cards which while perfectly OK at 800 x 600 resolution on a 15" CRT had very bad interference like effects when set to 1280 x 1024. The problems were generally either power supply or graphics card related - but had the appearance of a faulty monitor.
By carefully checking the above, almost all fuzzy and blurred display problems can be resolved.

Thanks for that BB. It's a new system from November last year. The problem is neither fuzzy nor blurred viewing. It's just that there is a pattern of ghostly, irregular-shaped diagonal lines running in the background apparently underneath whatever window is open or under the screensaver.

I'd take it back to the dealer but for the fact that it's an intermittent problem. It's a bit like the car with a knocking sound: take it to the garage and the noise disappears. Catch 22.

Sure it's not a loose cable? Check both the monitor end and the PC end.

Also check the refresh rate. Right Click Desktop...Screen Resolution...Advanced Settings - Choose the "Monitor" tab. Refresh rate for LCD's is normally 60hz. If it's set higher like 75hz you might get odd effects (I've seen that result in a sort of moving criss-cross effect that hurts your eyes to look at).

Thanks Jon. Cables seem OK and the refresh rate is set at 60hz. I'll try the dealer.

Does anyone use antivirus software on their mobile phone? I see Avast are currently pushing their product for use on Android platform.

Yes, I've got the Avast for Android. Haven't fully installed everything yet (i.e. rooting it - need to investigate that further), but it looks to be an outstanding product, highly rated, and free!

I wonder why there isn't more publicity to encourage people to install antivirus software on their phones? No one seems that bothered!

Broadband speeds:

I've just switched broadband & phone suppliers to Plusnet from TalkTalk, and four days in, I'm struggling to get much more than 1Mb download speed. Sunday night was truly shocking, around 0.25 Mb. I've contacted them & they say there's no problem when they've tested the line. TalkTalk were around 5-6 Mb.

I've done all the correct things like plugging the router and phone in to the master socket only, with no other connections. What experience does anyone else have of these problems and how did they resolve it?

SC:

Sounds to me like a line profile problem. Back at the exchange, a profile which sets the parameters for the line, including maximum reliable download speed, is set. I've had issues where the profile was stuck on 512kbps when the line can support 3Mbps+. The supplier (Plusnet) needs to get the infrastructure provider (BT) to reset the line profile to what you had before.

It's supposed to adjust automatically, but . . .

Just to clarify, do you mean your connection speed (downstream rate) reported by the router is 1 megabit/Mbps? Or it's downloading files at 1 megabyte per second reported by the browser? What's the connection speed supposed to be?

A little over 1 megabyte per second is the best I get, with an 'up to' 12 Megabit ADSL connection (I actually get 9-10 reported normally as the exchange is a few hundred meters away).

EDIT I'm sure MM is right :)

Ah, well, MM, the previous supplier, TalkTalk, was local loop unbundled, so there probably won't be a profile on my line (at least that's the way I understand it but I am prepared to be horribly wrong). However, what you say is a great help and I'll use that to give them a shove again.

Sounds like a job for 'Openreach man person'.

Jon, Connection speed should be around 5-6 Mb/s download speed. The speed check has been done using a couple of online broadband speed tests.

Your statement about only getting 1 Mb/s and reporting 9-10 seems contradictory?

At 1 Mb/s I have a struggle watching iPlayer.

Sorry Seymour, I should have been more clear. I was kind of referring to the difference between megabits and megabytes. Internet connections (and network connections in general) are measured in kilobits or megabits per second. But software like browsers, bittorrent software etc. report file download speeds in kilobytes or megabytes per second.

8 megabit = 1 megabyte. So with an 8 megabit net connection, you'd be lucky to see as much as 1 megabyte per second reported by your browser when downloading a large file. It's just something that can cause confusion.

Ah, thanks Jon. I understand better now - I think! Anyway, I've just sent an 'irritated' email again to support. We'll see what happens.

In fact, the 8 Megabit = 1 Megabyte conversion is very optimistic, as a lot of bits get used in the protocol handling (packet headers, addressing etc). So the delivered data speed can't match the 8/1 ratio. Sorry - from an Internet engineer (of sorts).

Thanks MM. And the 'overheads' would explain why I get just over 1 megabyte peak with a 9 or 10 meg connection (and I tend to only see that through Bittorrent rather than a HTTP or FTP download) but trying not to get too complicated ;)