Here's what we've tried and the results.

After down loading and installing Ad-aware it took a couple of tries to get a complete scan of the computer without it's shutting down in the middle of the scan. Once it had made it through, I found 26 critical items; all were tracking cookies which I quarantined and then removed. After that I ran the scan again and found nothing. So then I started IE and it still had the wrong home page. I changed it to the home page I used before-- Comcast---and clicked apply. Whereupon it went to a different page (Ebay). Then I clicked on the home button but it did not take me back to the Comcast web page as it should have. I have no doubt that the programs that just appeared (see initial post) in my programs list are causing this to happen but when I go in to add/remove they are not in the list. I've noticed another difference btw: a security tool bar in IE that Ido not remember being there before.

So my question is: How can I get rid of the 2 programs in the program menu if they do not show in add/remove?

After closing down IE I ran the scan again; it got about 1/2 way through before my computer shut down and restarted. Then I get the blue screen with a different problem every time I see it. But only the first time did I get any thing I could sort of understand: it said DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. Every other time it appeared it showed me only a bunch of numbers. ?????

When, at this point, I restarted the comp again and ran the Ad-Aware scan, Ad-Aware found 24 tracking cookies. I quarantined and deleted them. Next I restarted the comp one more time, reran the scan and got the same result..

Every one is a "Data Miner"

What now?