can't get AVG Free to work with my ISP's settings

I've got a thread on the subject going at the AVG forum, but I thought I'd see if anyone here might have any additional insight, because all the suggestions I've tried from there haven't worked.
I have DLS through Bell Sympatico. The ports they tell us to use are SMTP: 25, and POP3: 995. Using those settings, I'm able to send and receive mail, but I have no antivirus protection that way. Sympatico gives us a "deal" on the DSL, but it seems like they also want to force us to purchase their own firewall/ antivirus package for an additional $13/month - which irks me just on principle!
I've been using AVG Free for the last 7-8 years, and never had any problem with it while I was using dial-up. Wanted to try to continue with AVG, so I researched their FAQ page and posted a question there, and was given the following instructions (I'm choosing to use Thunderbird for my email, but I have the exact same problem using OE):

Thunderbird (Tools > Account Settings)
POP Mail Server name: pophm.sympatico.ca (or 127.0.0.1 - both work for me)
Port 5200 (default 995)
User Name: [my sympatico email address]
Use secure connection: SSL
Use secure authentication: not checked

SMTP Settings:
Description: <not specified>
Server Name: 127.0.0.1
Port 5100 (default 25)
Use name and password is checked, with my user name being my sympatico email address
Use secure connection: No


AVG Personal email scanner setup > Properties > Servers
Email proxy server list:
POP3: Port:5200 Host: 'pophm.sympatico.ca'
SMTP: Port:5100 Host: 'smtphm.sympatico.ca'

When I click on the "Modify" button for POP3 Server Connection:
Type of login: Fixed host [pophm.sympatico.ca]
Local port 5200
Use APOP when available: not checked
Connection: secure to regular port (STARTTLS)
Email client POP3 server settings: Server: "127.0.0.1:5200 ", Login: "user "
Activate this server and use for sending/receiving email: checked

If I click on "Modify" for SMTP Server Connection:
Relay Host: Fixed host [smtphm.sympatico.ca]
Local port 5100
Queue processing: Automatic
Connection: secure to regular port (STARTTLS)
Administrative server - send administrative messages to server port: 5200
Email client SMTP server settings: 127.0.0.1:5100
Activate this server and use for sending/receiving email: checked

Problem with these settings, is that I cannot receive any mail: I consistently get the message "Connection to server pophm.sympatico.ca timed out." If I change my pop3 port to 995, mail comes through fine, but then I'm bypassing AVG, which means I don't have any incoming antivirus protection (no problem with AVG's outgoing scans, for some reason).

The moderator at the AVG forum suggested I uninstall ZoneAlarm (I'm temporarily using XP's firewall), disable SpywareGuard, disable TeaTimer and SD in Spybot, uninstall AVG and then reinstall it. Did that, but I still have the same problem with incoming mail.

Is it conceivable that there truly is no way around this issue, short of buying into Sympatico's own antivirus software?
Any suggestions or advice at all are welcome at this point! It will kill me to have to surrender to Sympatico's blackmail.
Thanks!

FYI, Sympatico tech assistance will only help with IE and OE problems, and they won't touch anything involving antivirus software other than their own.

 

For the enlightenment of whoever might be interested:
Problem solved at least in part - I can now get AVG to scan both incoming and outgoing mail with Outlook Express. The solution to THAT was to uncheck
"This server requires a secure connection (SSL)" on the advanced tab for both POP3 and SMTP - I'd originally had a checkmark for that in POP3.
Thunderbird, however, is unable to connect to my pop server at all unless the POP3 connection is checked as "SSL ". Now that this has become a Thunderbird problem, I'll try starting a new thread on the subject there.

Final addendum:
At the suggestion of the moderator at the AVG forum, I tried uninstalling/reinstalling TB. Once I had Thunderbird reinstalled, I was able to set both my incoming and outgoing servers to 'no'/ 'never' use a secure connection, and lo and behold, now everything works as it should!