MORE INFO
the website the IE popup takes me to is from www dot savethisinformation dot com
when i boot with the eternet cabe unpluged, the flashing icon disappears completely
when i plug the eternet cable back in after booting unpluged, the flashing icon still is not there.
btw thanks for removing the "theserial" site link on my original post. I didn't notice it. Also, the smilie in my 1st post is actually :06