I have XP SP2 installed and the Firewall enabled. The Knowledge Base
describes a problem whose symptoms match mine exactly, except I'm not running
a pre-release version of SP2. I've tried adding Cisco VPN Client to the
Exceptions list, and even disabled the firewall for the VPN network
connection. Nothing works - I still can not connect. The only message
displayed is from the client, not from the Firewall, so at first I was
unaware the Firewall had anything to do with the connection problem. I
eventually found that if I turn off the XP Firewall, I can connect with no
trouble.

I don't understand why the Windows Firewall does not distinguish between
apps attempting to connect to the Internet from inside the system like other
firewalls do. The VPN Client is trying to connect to the remote end, and if
I have it added to exceptions and/or disable Firewall from the VPN network
connection, it should not be blocking a return connection from the remote end.

To make matters more confusing, if I drop the firewall, connect, then raise
the firewall again, I don't seem to lose the connection. I need to
experiment with this to see if it is a viable workaround.

Any assistance or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

advTHANKSance!