Hi, petalsinc.
It sounds like you have viruses and useless toolbars installed. You make want to back up any files that you want to keep and then revert back to the original factory image. Back up your files off of your machine. Store them on a USB thumb drive, or mail them to yourself. You could even upload them to your SkyDrive account or Google Drive. Get them off your machine before you reinstall Windows.
Go to the web site of the computer manufacturer who built your computer and search their online documentation on how to do this. There are usually forums on these sites (Dell, etc.)
Best practice: Never install any add-ons, plug-ins, or toolbars in your web browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.) Sometimes even installing quality tools will try to get you to install extra garbage on your browser that will slow down your machine. For example, Oracle Java wants to install the Ask toolbar. All toolbars are unnecessary today and only slow down your web browsing experience.
Good
Hi, petalsinc.
I can move your question to the Windows 7 or Windows 8 forums if you need more help after Davin's answer. If that might help then let us know.
It does sound as though the issues you are describing may be reminiscent of a malware infection. Davins recommendation to clean your computer and start over may be your best bet. In Windows 8.1 you can refresh your system without affecting your files, instructions for which are provided here from Windows Support. This will remove any applications you have installed, but will provide you with a clean slate free of any malware influences.
As for opening new shortcuts in Internet Explorer in their own windows, you can change how Internet Explorer opens new pages under Internet Options/ Tabs. Under Open links from other programs in: select A new window. You may also want to read up about how Tabs work in Internet Explorer 11 to see if they make sense for your browsing experience.
You can also easily create shortcuts from webpages by dragging the webpage icon (located to the left of the URL in the address bar) to a folder. You can also use Favorites to save shortcuts and organize them into folders.
Brandon
Windows Outreach Team- IT Pro
The Springboard Series on TechNet
- Proposed as answer by Davin Mickelson 12 hours 56 minutes ago
It does sound as though the issues you are describing may be reminiscent of a malware infection. Davins recommendation to clean your computer and start over may be your best bet. In Windows 8.1 you can refresh your system without affecting your files, instructions for which are provided here from Windows Support. This will remove any applications you have installed, but will provide you with a clean slate free of any malware influences.
As for opening new shortcuts in Internet Explorer in their own windows, you can change how Internet Explorer opens new pages under Internet Options/ Tabs. Under Open links from other programs in: select A new window. You may also want to read up about how Tabs work in Internet Explorer 11 to see if they make sense for your browsing experience.
You can also easily create shortcuts from webpages by dragging the webpage icon (located to the left of the URL in the address bar) to a folder. You can also use Favorites to save shortcuts and organize them into folders.
Brandon
Windows Outreach Team- IT Pro
The Springboard Series on TechNet
- Proposed as answer by Davin Mickelson Thursday, January 23, 2014 10:51 PM