xp freezes

New dell computer. Antivirus, firewall, spyware software immediately installed. When I use IE and go into yayoo to play spades (i think they use java) when I leave the gameroom IE freezes.. (program does not respond message, ctrl alt delete works after many attempts. Also, when I try to set program access and defults the changes don’t work, keeps changing to non microsoft programs like Quicktime or Real player. Seems like spyware problem, but i have 2 updated spyware programs running.