Weasel Quixote

Okay, so I've been a member of Second Life for many years. Even bought plenty of Linden Dollars. But I haven't logged on in many months. I normally use Firestorm viewer. I have a Dell System XPS L502X gaming laptop with a Microsoft Windows 7 Professional operating system and an Intel Core CPU. Whenever I try to log into Second Life, it takes three attempts for "requesting region connection," then crashes when it gets to "waiting for region handshake," saying I have a problem with my Internet connection or the region is having difficulties. I have two SL accounts. I've tried both of them. Same thing. I've tried logging in on both Firestorm and the official SL viewer. Same thing. I've tried changing the region I log into. Same thing. I've tried using MetaBOLT and other text-based viewers to go in and check, then change my Group title in case it had symbols in it, but they won't even seem to load my groups, friends, or inventory for me. I know it's not my firewall. I've completely disabled every part of it. Still having the same problem. I've tried allowing specific ports and such. No luck, but my Firewall allows all ports and IP address anyway. I tend to use different wireless Wi-Fi networks every time, since I'm homeless, and I'm told I need to allow each individual IP Address, but I can't find any instructions online on what I'm supposed to do when I know the IP Address. I'm at my wits' end. I'm desperate for some long overdue SL time. And before you ask, yes I have the latest versions of both SL Viewer and Firestorm. I actually tried logging on before I updated. Same problem before updating them, same problem after updating them. I have a hardware anti-virus program called Microsoft Security Essentials. There doesn't seem to be any method of allowing certain programs or turning it off. Can anyone help me, please?