Computer, can't connect w/ apps?

I'm usually able to figure crap like this out on my own, but i'm completely baffled right now...

I'm running into all kinds of weird problems on a computer (winXP) i'm stuck with while out of town for work (I'm too paranoid to move my main dev pc anywhere), and while i'm running into plenty of problems...one is sticking out the most.

I can't connect to anything except websites..
I have completely rid of all antivirus services, turned off windows firewall (yes i'm sure), reset the modem/router. I have setup the network several times over, and these are some problems:

Failed to open a ReadStream to file http::www.blitzbasic.com

Streams/banks don't work on anything online in blitzmax.

could not connect to server <blitzbasic>

SVN, for ANY svn server.
Cannot even run applications already compiled that use tstream/banks to download files off the net, or even connect to servers using raknet/socket streams, so it has nothing to do with blitz.

Now the kicker...I have another (slower) computer right beside this one, that has ALL the same services activated/disabled, same connection setup, etc, and it has no issues.

Any techy have any clue what the heck the problem could be with this damn thing? Would really appreciate it, i'm fresh out of ideas.

Where are you at? Are you behind a proxy? Are you in a hotel with some sort of crazy firewall?

Nope, at a relatives near where i'm working, no proxy, cable modem. All settings are the same on both pcs, one works, one doesn't.

And on the console?

ping blitzbasic.com

If that times out then it could be your network settings. Wrong router? Bad DNS servers? etc..

...Norton. I disabled all symantec services completely, and ensured the services were not coming back up on restart, or during any actions. I even tried safemode w/ networking and that didn't do it. I finally uninstalled norton completely, even though all its services were disabled prior with no success, which should have done nothing, fixed it.

Does this not mean norton IS a virus? It also required a tool (from their site) to uninstall, as add/remove does not work in any way to remove it.
I'm really curious how it can completely override internet activity with all the services disabled though..? I'm beside myself lol.

@Brucey, pings were working just fine as well, but access to anything except website content through IE wasn't possible. Downloads were fine as well through IE.

Norton software does nothing but cause problems. If you ever have a choice, get something other than Norton.

Retimer: disabling the Norton services may have caused the problem as well: I've seen older versrions of Norton antivirus list themselves as a dependency of the DHCP client service under Windows, meaning that unless the Norton services are running, the DHCP service wouldn't start.

Without the DHCP client service, the computer won't ask the network for an IP address, and therefore won't be able to send/receive on the network.

meaning disable norton --> internet won't work

(Aside from all that: Norton definitely is a big steaming pile of <insert something nasty>. the cure if worse than the disease, it seems. Switching to a good antivirus program fixed many problems. that doesn't necessarily mean expensive: Even the free version of AVG beats the snot out of Norton any day.