IE 7 Crashing

Malware is a huge issue for IE users, and even if you keep up with all the latest security patches, it's possible for it to be slipped onto your system without you even being asked if you want to install it. This, and numerous other security related issues, along with a broken rendering engine (though IE7 is considerably better than IE6) is why I strongly recommend everyone abandon IE as soon as possible and never look back. It should be replaced with your choice of Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or Safari.

But to get rid of your malware problem, you'll need to download a few malware removal programs. Adaware, Spybot, and AVG Anti-Spyware are some of the better ones. You will need more than one, since no one program will catch everything.

If you continue to use IE, you will need to perform regular scans with these programs, and make sure they remain updated just like your virus scanner. If you use any of the other programs, which are the only non-IE based options on Windows, the odds of malware getting onto your system again should plummet, and reach near zero levels if you do not use pirated software, Outlook/Outlook Express, or file sharing software like Kazaa.