IE won't display any web pages?

[ipod]

My father in-law rings up and says that on his laptop IE is not displaying anything and IE is constanly refreshing the web pages/sites. Apparently nothing is loading up, and i'm wondering if it has something to do with the cache memory that IE uses to store pages is constanly full. I was also told that it could be a trojan that is blocking access to either certain sites or the whole internet, and that a product called "A-squared" (free), would be able to remove the offending item(s) if any. He uses a wirless connection on his vista laptop and he's not very computer literate and because he is in Spain, it is bestowed upon me to try and advise over the phone as best as I can. Can anyone help me solve this debacle please. Much Appreciation, Ipod.