IE 6 Problems on Win 2k machine

[Snorlax]

IE quits working for no reason. I keep getting messages that the websites are unavailable even though I know the connection is good (works on a different computer). I have had a barage of adware and spyware problems lately but I don't know if that's what's causing all the problems. I am using VirusScan and Ad-ware but maybe that's not enough. I did have some virus problems but when I run VirusScan everything is OK. I'm so sick of Microsoft and Internet Explorer. Does anyone use Firefox? I've been reading some good things about it. Thanks for any commnets.