I am helping a woman with a computer problem, and it seems that she can browse the web fine, but when she wants to check her hotmail account she is unable to log into it. I tried to go to WindowsUpdate to see if there was any critical updates, but as soon as I hit scan know I got an error. I deleted all the cookies, temp files, and history files. I checked for a proxy server,none. I put a check in to allow all cookies, still no result. I also tried to lower the security level to Medium, but still no results. I checked her computer for any firewalls, but she doesn't have Zone Alarm. She has Norton Internet Security, but it is completely uninstalled. She said this problem started after her sister installed a couple software programs. The programs were multi media programs like 3dMax and Adobe Illustrator. I wouldn't think that those applications would cause her to not be able to get into secure sites like her hotmail. She is also having problems logging into Rhapsody. All these problems kinda have similiar error messages like cannot connect to .Net service, or to check to make sure you are connected. She has a perfectly good connection which is cable because she can get other sites. If anybody has any suggestions or solutions, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

nblank006: some ideas about the .NET service: 1. see near top of page for "Check the .NET Service status" at: http://messenger.microsoft.com/support/status.asp if answer is not satisfactory, install the Windows Messenger update at the same site. 2. if your Passport is not recognized, go to a Passport site: http://www.passport.com or http://www.hotmail.com sign in, and make sure you are recognized there and key in your profile info. again and save it. 3. disable your 'auto-detect' settings on your browser; for Internet Explorer users, click the IE Tools menu, click Internet Options, click the Connections tab, click the LAN Settings button, and then clear the 'Automatically Detect Settings' box. 4. check for a false proxy setting; on the MSN Messenger Tools menu, click Options. on the Connection tab, be sure the 'I use a proxy server' check box is clear. 5. firewalls and third-party applications may also affect your ability to connect to MSN Messenger. to see if any of these applications are affecting your connectivity, you can disable the application(s) and then try to connect to the Messenger service. let us know what worked for you...