this is exactly what i have done " flipping between Interactive and Automatic mode" maybe this is what is causing the issues as when i think about it i have had problems in the past where things didn't work after changing modes, i am now using automatic mode and will not change and i will see if any problems arise. in regards to contradicting myself let me explain, after creating the rules and them not working i deleted them and re-created them again after a few attempts of deleting and re-creating the rules took and everything worked again and still is.Let me be clear i really like ESET i have not got any infection ever since i started using it (from version 8)but i do believe that there is a problem with the firewall going mad from time to time,and i believe that this will be looked into an fixed at some point when they figure out just what is going on.