???do i need a seperate firewall while i am running the free avast home edition? if so which do you recomend and if not how do i set it up as i have programs i do not want connecting to the net as they cause my pc to slow down im using xp thanks in advance
You can use Comodo Firewall (requires registration), ZoneAlarm Free or Sunbelt Kerio PF 
From v2.4, that just came out, you don’t need to do a registration.