Help, anyone.

[Razorfish]

If you on a network you want to keep NetBIOS open. If your using dial-up or a cable modem there is no real purpose to having it open (or closed for that matter). The easiest way to enable all useful and good TCP traffic to come through is to put your internet browser program (Internet Explorer, AOL, or whatever) on the list of programs with unrestricted access. Its in the options menu on most browsers.
If your worried about hackers, don't. The odds that your computer, out of the millions on the internet right now, will get hacked is really low. Most hackers go after the big fish (major websites and coporate servers) and hacking someone's personal computer wouldn't be too useful. Most viruses come from people opening email with clever titles like "I love you" . I had Zone Alarm (another firewall program) on my computer for a while but all it did was slow my system down and give me email problems. While firewalls can be good, their not always neccessary.