I found a very comprehensive post on another forum to deal with this situation. I have turned the post into a list of steps. Try each step until your problem is solved.

• Refresh your scripting engine: Windows Script 5.6 for Windows 2000 and XP
• Sometimes there's a corrupt file in the cache. To clear the cache, open Internet Explorer, click Tools, select Internet Options, and click Delete Files.
• Reregister scripting DLLs. Open a comman prompt (click Start, click "Run...", type "cmd", and press OK) and execute the following commands:
  (Toggle Plain Text)

  regsvr32 vbscript.dll
  regsvr32 jscript.dll

  regsvr32 vbscript.dll regsvr32 jscript.dll
• You cannot open a new Internet Explorer window or nothing occurs after you click a link
• Error Message When You Browse the Web: An Error Has Occurred in the Script on This Page
• "A Runtime Error has occurred" error message when you view Web pages in Internet Explorer after you install Office 2003
• In Internet Explorer, click Tools, click Internet Options, select the tab labelled Advanced, and uncheck "Enable third-party browser extensions". Reboot your system. After the system loads up, check your system for malware using this guide. When you have cleaned out all the junk, renable third-party extensions.

(source)

Let me know if this addresses your issue.

chrisbliss18 thank you for the reply.

I am a little afraid to delete any files--if I screw up this computer any more then it all ready is my husband will not be a happy camper!

I tried uninstalling Spyware Doctor just to see what would happen--and now I can open links--so am assuming it's the SWD causing the problem. I've not had any resolution to the help request I put into them :mad:

So should I still try your suggestions or just leave SWD uninstalled and hope :rolleyes: that I don't get the bad crap that caused me to install it in the first place!?

Thank you so much for your help!!

If everything works now, just leave Spyware Doctor off. I've never used it, or heard of it for that matter, so I would recommend replacing it with a different solution. If you have a valid copy of Windows, install Microsoft Antispyware. This software is very good at handling most common problems and will alert you if known spyware tries to install itself on your system.

If you have spyware infections currently, use this guide to do a thorough system cleaning. The guide will also help you secure your machine against future problems.

FYI: The Delete Files button in Internet Explorer just cleans up temporary files that Internet Explorer uses. It won't affect any other programs or get rid of any of your files or settings.

just a follow up---i uninstalled the spyware doctor and have not experienced any more problems. I guess I will leave it off but it ticks me off bcuz I paid for it. I did finally get an email back from them wanting me to reinstall to see what caused the problem but I just don't feel like messing with it.
Also, ran a scan with trend micro which caught a few things--I deleted a file (ftffy or something like that) and that also got rid of a some problems I was having.
So anyway, thanks to the posters that tried to help me--I appreciate it!!

Thank you chrisbliss18