AVG / Zone Alarm run amok?

[sleeepr]

I recently updated my AVG free and basic free Zone Alarm, as well as Firefox, to the latest and greatest versions. Since then, Firefox is glitchy - frequently hangs when pages are anywhere from 60% to 95-98% loaded (judging from the progress bar at the bottom of the page).

I've been scouring the forums looking for anyone who has experienced the same thing. I had it once about a year ago after running an update of Firefox and Windows update at the same time - turned out the Windows update had something that interfered with the latest version of Firefox.

Had anyone heard of anything similar? I've tried running Firefox in safe mode, but it really doesn't seem to change anything. I removed the Firefox toolbar and all add-ons first, but to no avail.

Is it possible that Zone Alarm is mucking with pages. From the activity indicator, things just stop somewhere out there in space, never to continue again. Reloading pages sometimes works, sometimes I have to reload or back up and then go forward again.

Thanks for any input. If the mods feel this would be better posted under a different header, please feel free to redirect.

TA