Anon,
Here are answers to your questions (as best as I could answer). Thanks for the help!:
1. Are you getting re-directed when you type in google.com?
No. It appears that IE8 is going directly to google.com. Typically, I am searching from the toolbar.
2. When you use google and search something, do you get re-directed?
The search results are correct for the keywords that I'm searching for. When I click on the search results, sometimes it will go to the correct result and sometimes it will go to some ad site or something else.
3. If so, how often (for ever 4 websites, how many get re-directed)?
It varies, at times 100%. Other times, about 25%.
4. Is it using certain search engines like yahoo, google, etc.?
Confirmed on yahoo, bing, and google.
5. Do some search engines work and others get re-directed?
It appears that all of the major search engines get re-directed.
6. Does any site load when clicked on?
Occasionally, the appropriate site will load. Usually, I get re-directed after clicking on a link. After trying a few just now, I saw that it sent my keywords to googloe.de and that popped another site.
7. Do the sites have a pattern? Are they the same?
Sometimes they are related to what I searched for, other times it comes up with a home medical site (fairly often) or something else random.
Additional info: Today, I've noticed several times that McAffee has reported finding and deleting a trojan that it is calling "DNSChanger.as". It appears to come back each time I connect to the internet and at times during surfing.