Question : I can send e-mail ok but cannot get to Internet via browser

I have Vista Home on an HP desktop. Worked fine for a while but some stuff must have gotten loaded, now I cannot use a browser to surf the internet.

But I can use Outlook 2003 to send e-mail.

In the network and sharing Center, it says I'm connected local and internet.

I had PC Confidential 2008 loaded, removed it via "Add Remove Programs".

I had this really wacky error message from Internet Explorer with Japanese characters or such, but that has gone away.

I also removed Norton Security.

No clue how to proceed . . .

Answer : I can send e-mail ok but cannot get to Internet via browser

go to internet options inside the ie browser and click on connections, at the bottom click on LAN Settings, make sure none of these boxes are checked, then click on the security tab and reset all zones to default and restart ie, see if this helps. in the lan settings, some malware files will change this setting to make your pc try to go through a proxy server that doesnt exist, if that box is checked your browser wont work