Is anyone else having probs with locking up in IE?

Question

Every time I click on a link, my computer freezes, and I know its not the computer, I just got it Monday........

Answer 1

It can't be "every time" otherwise you would have been unable to post this message as you have to click on links several times in order to get the post to occur.

One thing you should definately do is scan for spyware and virus. Both of those can lead to freezes.

Answer 2

It very well may be the computer. Most likely not the hardware, but the software. You say you just got it Monday. As in Brand new?
If it was previously used there could certianly be issues.
If brand new, then I would question your internet connection. Meaning, is your PC connected directly to the internet? Is it plugged directly into a cable modem or using direct dial-up? Or is it connected to a router which is connected to your internet connecting device, i.e. a cable modem?
Being connected to a router first would usually mean that your machine is 'isolated' from the internet and is running on you own private network via NAT (Network Address Translation) and thus less susceptible to attack or more secure.
If it is connected directly to the internet then it is relatively wide open to attack by crackers on the internet.
To find out which, go to start > run and enter "winipcfg" for older versions of windows, or start > run and enter "command" which will bring up a dos shell command window... in that type 'ipconfig' (no quotes) and hit enter. This will give you the IP address information for your machine. If the address is something like 192.168.1.xxx (x being some number) then you are running onyour own private network behind a router. There are a couple different address ranges for private IP's, though any that starts with 192.168 is most common. If it is something else than most likely your machine is directly connected to the internet and anyone could attempt to connect to that address.

Next, do you have anti-virus software running and active? I personally suggest AVG antivirus as they have a free version which allows free virus definition updates, compared to Norton and McAfee which require a paid subscription (after any trial period if the software was packaged with the computer). And are the definitions up to date?
After getting the latest virus definitions, run a virus scan to make sure a virus hasn't infected your computer.

Then check for spyware. I have seen that issues such as the one you are experiencing has frequently been attributed to spyware, which can get onto your machine by installing some downloaded programs or just going to certain web sites. Adaware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com) is a popular program for checking this. Another one is Microsoft's windows defender (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx) which I don't particularly recommend, simply because I don't recommend Microsoft products and suggest alternatives to clients as a practice.
Here's a link to an article which covers this topic more and has additional suggestions on related software: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,119572-page,1/article.html

Lastly, I would suggest not using IE as a browser as it seems to be the most commonly exploited and exploitable web browser. I only use IE myself, on the one machine I have Windows on mainly for games for the kids that I can't run on WINE, for accessing (poorly designed, IMHO) websites that require it or for testing my own or client website designs for how they work with IE. I personally use and recommend Opera, and on occasion use Firefox.

I typically recommend using Linux as an operating system rather than Windows for several reasons, though that depends on several factors, mostly related to usage.

There are links to most of what I've mentioned above located at my website link (under sources) below, (things related to security will be on the security page) though I'm still working on the main alternative programs page to include mostly free open source programs such as I've mentioned, so there may not be a link on my site. In which case a google search (which you can do from my site) or yahoo search for the program will get you there.

Good luck, and if you have any related questions feel free to contact me, either through yahoo or my site.