Having gotten past a number of problems, I downloaded and attempted to run Firefox 3.5.02. Kept getting a message that the page cannot be found. I was connected to the internet and could browse using IE 8.0. I checked Program Control and change Auto to Allow but this made no difference.
Finally, I did a full uninstall of Norton and rebooted. Firefox can now access the internet.
Until I get a warm and fuzzy feeling that NIS 2009 and Windows 7 can play well together, I will leave this off of my system and rely on Microsoft Firewall and Security Essentials for my ststem protection.
I will continue to monitor this forum for developments.