OK, I think I'm in the clear. Turns out it was Avast Online Security - research indicates I am far from being the only one experiencing problems with it in conjunction with IE.
I modified the install of Avast to remove it; now things seem to be doing very well.
My understanding is it served only to give quick advice on the safety of web addresses in search engines, but did not offer any "real" protection;
I am therefore still protected by Avast in the traditional "Antivirus" sort of way.
Also uninstalled Avast Gadget, Grimefighter, etc, that are not needed.
We need you in our research community!
Well, things these days just aren't as simple as a few years back. I understand internet security in these software tools but, goes to show you they go to far.
Another way to call it is resources hog.
The above in my mind does the same thing and works with all antivirus applications out there that I know of.
OK, people gonna talk about us if we don't get this topic resolved.....LOL
