Far be it for me to tell you how to work, but there is a complete work around to the issues of pinnacle version 9 (and make sure you have 9.1 or higher):
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=884130 lists the problem.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=875351 has the work around. Basically, the way pinnacle tries to pass information around is the same way that many viruses work. So that path is blocked unless you specifically disable certain things. If you disable, things are apparently fixed.
If you paid pinnacle for a working product, you should be on their case for not keeping up with patches... SP2 has been out for a while, this isn't a "new this week" issue.
As for software firewalls, well, like I said, they are ALL pointless. I leave microsoft's running because it is there, but I have neutered it down almost entirely. Nice to know when programs want to talk outside, I guess. But the hardware firewall stops the most significant types of attacks, port scans and such.
Alex