RE: Home network problem

While I don't agree that a software firewall is unnecessary, I do agree
with Dave's summary.  Don't just de-activate, but uninstall ZA.  Get the
share working.  Then re-install ZA.  If the share breaks, you have an
obvious path to troubleshoot (or seek support from the vendor).

As has been mentioned before, many of the better approaches to security
involve a layered approach.  Layer the software firewall on top of the
hardware firewall.  Layer the AV & AntiSpyware apps ontop of that.  

The software firewall specifically provides a layer of support that the
hardware firewall doesn't.  For instance, the hardware firewall would
not stop the privacy invasion caused by the Sony rootkit exploit.