Smart Firewall freezes/hangs itself and browser(s)

I seem to be having the same problem as several other folks. I've tried all the suggestions I can find, to no avail.

Periodically - for no apparent reason - smart firewall will freeze or hang both itself, and any / all access from a browser. The only "solution" I've found so far is to disable it (in fact, I'm typing now with the blinkin' thing ''off".

General symptoms

- any attempt to open a website via a some browser (right now, both Chrome & Firefox) hangs

- other browser(s) on the pc seem unaffected (right now, Safari is happy).

- I cannot make adujstments, or checks, within S.F., as those options also seem to hang/freeze. (the program rules and network trust map).

- if I reboot enough times, the problem seems to disappear on its own. I just don't understand why.

I have attempted reboot.

I have done a live-update scan

I have done a live-update scan followed by a reboot.

I have checked that Norton is up-to-date.

 

NIS 21.6.0.32

OS Windows 8.1

h/w HP laptop.

 

HELP. What the bleep good is a security program intended to protect me from bad stuff on the net if I have to turn it off to access the net?