i have a antivirus installed. the problem started when i started a free trial of Norton that came with my computer. now any anti-virus has the same effect. the computer will detect the internet, i can download updates, but it wont connect to the internet. when i uninstall the anti-virus software it will connect to the internet. i don't like the idea of not having anti-virus software. any type of help will be beneficiary.

You may try to proceed by restoring your system state using a restore point that dates before the appearance of your problem. If this does not help, I recommand to you to contact your antivirus software provider. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.

Since the issue is caused by Norton, if you would like to resolve the issue and keep this antivirus meantime, please contact Symantec support and properly configure the program. Otherwise, you can choose MSE as a replacement. Virus, Spyware & Malware Protection Microsoft Security EssentialsPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

I would highly recommend MSE (Microsoft Security Essential) in your case, I have used it since I had my new computer with Win7 installed, no problem so far and everything works as the way it supposed to be. In your case, it may has something to do with Norton settings. Have you tried cmd - ipconfig/all, see if you have default gateway and subnet mask assigned.