SRS -

Clinton can get by with turning off security, because Clinton is sufficiently knowledgeable to recognize and correct problems if they should occur. The same knowledge cannot be assumed for a daughter; and it is perfectly appropriate for you to insist on whatever conditions you believe necessary.

I've found very few instances where it's actually necessary to turn off the firewall, since most firewalls allow you to make a "duration of connection exception" any time something is blocked. If you have a regular connection you expect to use frequently, with most firewalls you can enter the specific site and a specific program to be used for the contact in a permanent list of exceptions. Finding where to enter your exceptions can be a puzzle with most firewalls.

As an example only, since I'll assume you're not using just the WinXP firewall:

Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2 KB842242.

Gives fairly specific instructions for how to selectively permit an individual program to access your computer (i.e. how to unblock a port) when you're using the WinXP firewall.

Troubleshooting Windows Firewall settings in Windows XP Service Pack 2 KB875357.

Mostly the same instructions as for the preceding link.

The "WinXP firewall specific" stuff may give you clues to where to look in your own firewall info. Instructions on how to determine what ports are used by a particular connection may be more generally helpful, since you'll need that information for any FTP connection that you want to run through a firewall.

Individual files can be downloaded via FTP in Internet Explorer with no other program required; but a separate connection is required for each file which may be inconvenient in some cases. Other browsers presumedly have similar ability. In IE, Click Tools | Internet Options and click the "Advanced" tab at the top. Make sure that there's a check mark in the box for "Enable folder view for FTP sites."

Windows, at least since Win2K, has a built in FTP manager, so if you can live with "dossy" you can just click Start | Run and type "FTP" (no quotes) followed by the address for the connection. A login should be required next, and a few DOSSY commands will need to be mastered. A quick summary is at How to Use FTP.

The above link suggests a "free FTP" program that sounds similar to what you have. The program you use should be relatively immaterial, since FTP is a well standardized protocol. Someone may be able to suggest one with "features" ... ...

Where you save a download on your computer should have no effect on how fast the download is completed. Your hard drive can write a lot faster than any web connection you're likely to have available to you. Under some circumstances a T1 (fiber optic) link can slightly push currently typical hard drive speeds in deep RAID arrays, but for a copy to a single hard drive, the drive should be well ahead of the link transfer.

On my dial-up connection, I average about 3.7 KB/sec, although I get occasional "bursts" up to about 7.5. A GB download would look like around 50 hours for me, so I'd probably just use a large stick on the kid, and/or give 'm a book to read.

WinXP does drag-n-drop CD burns, but I don't think it has that capability for DVD. I'll defer to others on what freeby DVD burn programs may be available.

John