Hi,
Both of these problems are usually caused by a third-party browser add-on or
program- possibly legitimate- possibly malware.

Check for an incompatible add-on.
See: http://www.enhanceie.com/ie/troubleshoot.asp
for troubleshooting information.
Hint: Try uninstalling Google desktop.

The troublesome program may not show up as an add-on. Disable other
security, privacy, ad-blocking programs to see if one of them is causing the
problem. Any program that interacts with Internet Explorer could be causing
this. The connection with IE may not be obvious, such as Google Desktop.

A firewall will probably not be causing this problem, but be sure to turn on
the Windows Firewall from Control Panel> Windows Firewall before disabling a
third-party firewall or security suite during testing.
- - - -
Or, this may be a malware problem- adware, spyware, hijacker, trojan, etc.
See these sites for help:

The Parasite Fight http://www.aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm

Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites:
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

Malware Removal and Prevention Overview - CastleCopsWiki:
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Overview

Bugs, Glitches & Stuffups: http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.html

Removing Malware:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Hope this helps,
Don
[MS MVP- IE]

internet