Hands Off! application interferes with App Store

I had a problem for the last couple days logging in to the App Store. A call to AppleCare resulted in them having me start up in Safe Mode. In that condition, all was normal with the App Store but, when I restarted normally, although I was still logged in to the App Store, I could not update apps nor could I purchase new apps. When Iogged out, I was unable to log in again.

The folks at Apple had me try several other tests, too numerous to describe here and, ultimately, not germane to the solution.

Since I had recently installed a program named Hands Off!, I suspected it was the culprit. My suspicion was correct. If anyone is having similar problems and has Hands Off! installed, I suggest you go to the Hands Off! preferences and click on the "Disable rules" icon in the toolbar. That solved the problem for me.