I am using IE 8 and only get problem one.

Guera - a lot of BDSM sites are notorious for opening lots of windows. I used to have this problem until I disabled pop ups and then it stopped.

Another thing everyone needs to check is spyware/adware and viruses... run adaware (www.lavasoft.com) and see what comes up. Most PCs attract hundreds of adware intrusions which can cause all sorts of problems. Mostly these are harmless (in that they don't impact system performance, they still tell advertisers which sites you look at...) but some can be malicious either because they upload personal information/keystrokes (thereby risking someone else getting hold of your credit card number or passwords) or because they eat up processing power and/or bandwidth.