After much finagling, I found how to fix the problem. At least, it worked for my configuration.

I added my "local host" IP address (127.0.0.1) to the Norton Internet Security's "Trusted Zone" (Under NIS, go to "Personal Firewall" - "Configure" - "Networking" and add 127.0.0.1 under the "Trusted" tab). After that, Fax Monitor worked fine.

I tried adding the Windows XP Fax and fax service executables to the Program Control list with full access rights, but it didn't accomplish anything. Looking through the logs generated by NIS reveals (by way of some time-correlation and second-guessing) that the incoming calls are judged to be Netspy Trojan horse attacks and are blocked. But for some reason, they're only blocked from Fax Monitor. The connection succeeds, and faxes can be reliably received.

Symantec's web site was of no use at all in troubleshooting this issue. The instructions they offered were vague, incomplete, and indecisive; sort of "try all this stuff and see if anything works".

Russ, it appears that you're pretty active in this discussion group. Hopefully, you'll be able to disseminate this solution to what must be a horde of folks out there who are tearing their hair out trying to figure out why Fax Monitor appears to be broken.

- John