one more tool, hijackthis will give you a more detailed list than msconfig to see what is starting up
http://download.cnet.com/Trend-Micro...-10227353.html
if you really want to get down and dirty check out some winternals and a sniffer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...s/default.aspx
http://www.wireshark.org/
last tip and I have to get productive...you can download firefox or chrome to usb and install it on the pc, if you can get out with another browser it is not network related but IE targeted and before disabling system restore you might try going back in time