Emails / firewall problem?

[inca]

My problem:

For the last week I have been unable to send or receive any emails while Zonealarm is running. I have tried different email clients such as Outlook, Outlook Express & Thunderbird.
But as soon as I close down Zonealarm all mail clients can connect and receive emails from pop / smtp.ntlworld.com.
I can ping both email servers with Zonealarm in place with no packet loss, not sure if that helps or not?

I have made no system changes in the last few months, besides installing MOHAA - Warchest.

Tests completed:

Spybot, Hijackthis, Ad-Aware & Norton = No problems detected.
Re-installed Zonealarm, Outlook, Outlook Express & Thunderbird.
Treble checked program control seetings in Zonealarm.
System Restore.

My System:

Windows XP - SP2
Zonealarm Basic
640 Mb Ram
1Mb Ethernet - Ntl

I don't want to keep having to turn off Zonealarm to get my emails, if thats my only option can anyone recommend another free firewall option?

Thanks for your time.

Dan.

[nffc]

Sygate's good but really you should be able to use ZA.

You need to check port 110 (POP3) is open, and that you have access rights for OE and TB... in the firewall settings.

I haven't used ZA for ages so can't remember the exact process but it should be straight forward.