system
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Well, you’ve got me thinking again! I had thought I’d understood the problem. 
Before installing Avast I think the ‘Internet Options’ connections box was set to either always dial, or dial if a connection is not present. In any case the effect was that when I launched Explorer (Firebird, Outlook, whatever) the connection fired slowly into life and away I went.
Post Avast installation I find that the box is always reset to ‘Never dial a connection’ and does exactly that: Any programme I launch that requires an internet connection won’t initiate it’s own link, so I have to launch it seperately from the appropriate connection in the Dial-Up networking folder. Either that or I reset to ‘always dial a connection’, after which applications go back to initiating connection at the appropriate time until the next time I reboot.
Trouble is - I don’t really know what I’m doing (my system is built out of bits and pieces people gave me or I otherwise scrounged) and Windows has too many little options I can play with…
Anyway, have I now been clear about what my problem is? Or am I just mad?
Thanks for the response!
Matt