The one thing that you never do is go online without a firewall.. look for
other things that may be slowing the computer.. spyware/malware for
instance..
Yes, they do.. but there was no mention of another firewall running.. the
Windows Security Center will show that a firewall is running, whether it be
the SP2 firewall or third party.. if the OP is reading all of the threads,
going to Control Panel and checking the 'Windows Firewall' will confirm if
it is the SP2 firewall or some other that is indicated as running..