Assuming you're using a variant of Win98/Me, press the 3 finger salute JUST ONCE to bring up the task list. The only two items you absolutely need are systray and explorer, and maybe Rnaapp if you have dialup modem. The explorer isn't IE, it just has the same name. You'll likely find a dozen or more things. Cancel them one at a time, works for this session only.
To stop these permanently, type in msconfig in Start->Run. Just look at all the stuff under the Startup tab. Sometimes what it is is just a mystery.
Another utility is msinfo32, often perusing its long lists will tell you where it came from.
A site that has started compiling a list of these bad actors is answersthatwork.com. Look the the "Task List."
Well, this is a running start. Better yet, get yourself a CD of Knoppix Linux and give that a whirl. It runs from the CD without munging your disk, and its cheap. Try it, you might like it.