Activesync 4.2 messing up PC

[gabt]

I installed AS 4.2 to my PC. That went fine. McAfee pop up kept notifying me that registry keys were about to be changed. I granted access to this. I connected the Q to the PC via USB. It recognized the device and shows "CONNECTED." Then I tried to start the PHM Reg Editor to do some hacks, at the same time my internet connection showed that it was attempting to locate my IP address. This went on for more than 5 minutes. I then tried to exit out of AS and my computer froze. I had to force a shut down and when I restarted, it took 15 minutes for the desktop icons to finally appear. I finally had to do a system restore to the time before installing AS. The microsoft website states that some kind of interference with firewalls, etc. would cause your computer to seem like it crashed after installing AS 4.2. How do I work around this? I do not want to use Wireless Sync to do my hacks.