[DKTaber]

About 2 weeks ago, something changed in the settings in (I think) my firewall that prevents my browsers from accessing ANY page from a sponsored link. When I do a search using Google, all the links on the search results page work EXCEPT those from sponsors (the ones at the top and those along the right side). This is true with BOTH IE and Firefox, which is why I think the source of the problem is NOT with the browser settings, but with the firewall. I am using Comodo Firewall Pro, ver. 3.0., which is set to receive updates as they are issued (could an update have caused this?). I cannot find any setting that would cause the firewall to single out sponsored links for blocking.

Before anyone suggests the obvious -- turn off the firewall -- I tried that. You cannot turn Comodo off. Even when you click "Exit" and answer "Yes" to the warning "Are you sure you want to shut down the firewall?", the firewall does not shut down; all you do is turn off notifications. This is confirmed by Windows Security, which despite exiting the firewall, says "Comodo firewall is ON". . . and I still cannot access any sponsored link. The only way I can "turn Comodo off" is to uninstall it. Then I have to spend a week to 10 days retraining it, which is a royal pain in the a**; it pops up probably 50 warnings the first day to which you have to check "allow", 45 the next day, 40 the next, etc.

Anybody have a clue as to why this sudden change in browser behavior?