Several programs unable to sync with Internet, although browsers work fine

I have several programs that have been unable to sync through the Internet or Wi-Fi.  It first came up when CompanionLink, which syncs my Outlook calendar and contacts with DejaOffice on my Android phone, kept failing to connect through Wi-Fi, although I was able to sync it with a direct USB connection (a nuisance, though) .  Then I noticed the message on Windows Live Mail that "There was an error when attempting to connect to the Windows Live Calendar service".  This seemed strange since I use Live Mail for email, but Outlook for my calendar, and as far as I know I don't have any WLM calendar service.  I then found that when I try to download from bank accounts to Quicken, I get a message that Quicken is unable to connect to the Internet, and if I try to go into the help files on Quicken, Windows Live Mail or Outlook, i also get messages that suggest the computer is offline.  This is the case even though I am able to access the Internet through my browser (Google Chrome) with no problem.  This is becoming a serious problem, as it is impacting much of what I use my computer for, and any help in resolving it would be appreciated.  Thank you.