So, yesterday, out of the blue, in the middle of me opening some websites, IE refuses to connect. So do Netscape, and Thunderbird, Firefox and the Antivir update. For hours. Meanwhile, SmartFTP still works fine, and eMule as well. So I check the firewall settings, the connection, the router, everything. I reboot the computer several times. I de-install the last software I'd installed the day before. I re-set Windows to yesterday's state. I dig through the Windows help. Nothing works.

I scream in frustration and go to bed, and spend a whole day away on business instead of babysitting my computer. I call the IT department at work. I ask everyone who has at least a passing knowledge with this stuff.

I get back home and pick up the phone to call the IT specialist from where I bought the computer, all ready to re-format C:\ and re-install Windows, or give my computer back into the shop for another week and another 35,- EUR (for installing a network that connects computer, laptop and router).

I hit the IE button for no reason at all.

Voilà: The Google page loads.

WTF?!?!?!?