Can I suggest two tools at grc.com?
Firstly, the famous
Shields Up! to check if your firewall is working
Secondly, some very useful (and free) tools are
here. I would suggest
- Shoot The Messenger
- UnPlug n' Pray
- DCOMbobulator
they are all small and quick, and don't disable anything important. Your firewall should guard them all anyway, but better safe.
As for anti-virus, I like PC-cillin Internet Security.
Will