internet explorer browser dead, but still online

[Mik3y]

my friend's internet is being weird. she can still go on aim and chat, but whenever she tries to open up explorer, it wont connect to any site. it just seems like its loading, but its not going anywhere. i'm pretty sure its not spyware or adware, so what do you guys think the verdict is?

 

[amdskip]

It's spyware. CW shredder, adaware w/update, lspfix too. Spyware could have screwed her stack up and the lspfix will take care of that.

 

[KB]

I would consider the spyware route as this is the most likely possibility.
In case it is not spyware, I would also look at other options

In IE under "Tools", Internet Options go to the Connection tab. Click the LAN settings button. Make sure she doesn't have a proxy server configured.

If she is running a fireware, make sure it is not blocking IE from getting out.

Use nslookup to make sure she can resolve dnsnames to ipaddresses.