Help with security

Ive been having some trouble with my internet connection. Whenever i go to a login site, such as ebay or hotmail, when i try to login it says that page cannot be displayed. also when i try to update windows it says my security settings are too high. ive checked internet explorers tools-options-security and ive set everything to lowest, including cookies to accept all. the only thing ive noticed is that PCT 1.0 doesnt appear in my advanced tab's security section. i suspect that my security is set on high somewhere besides internet explorer. any suggestions?

 

Do you have a firewall running and/or popup stopper ?

 

still need help...