Rodger's problem seemed to be that he'd picked up some "spyware" on the internet somewhere. I suggested he try AdAware by Lavasoft and it apparrently worked. Anyway, it's free, it doesn't have any particular strings attached, and it's pretty easy to use.
The way it works is that it scans your computer looking for known spyware and other things planted by evil marketers, it then lists them for you and allows you to delete them.
One thing, if you use it, don't be surprised if the first time out it comes up with a LOT of stuff, mostly "tracking cookies".
Don