MSN sign in screen

I know. I'll get a lot of folk telling me to switch to Firefox or something else but I've had MSN for 15 years and I'm a loyal customer.

I have windows 7 installed. At various times the msn sign in screen will come on by itself (I am not of course on the net then). This happens regularly in Microsoft works 9, used to happen in Encyclopedia Britannica. Sometimes when I leave my pc on over night, that screen will be up when I bring up the desktop.

I think some program is wanting to access the internet. i have run several antivirus programs and nothing found. My pc zips along very fast normally but slows down alot when opening sites, including AW (one of the worst to slow down). I have defragmented on schedule and run disk scan and disk clean.

It's a pain in the butt, but I can live with it. Any comments?

Thanks Brad and alleycat-I've tried Firefox and Opera and do not like either. Of course having had MSN for so long I'm just too used to it I think.
I've been fishing around for answers for some time now. As I remember, i had a similar problem with Vista. I'll check on the log back in thing. I have a big book on Win7. I'll check on it.

When I google for some info I really get nothing of interest. Thanks for the help.

Brad-my PC does not require login after it's been on for some time. It goes into power saving mode and i just move my mouse to bring it to life.Even when i leave it on all night.

Matera-MSN messanger has long been my mortal enemy. I never use it, prefering email so I can think before I write. It is the most obnoxious piece of crap ever invented.

I have checked msconfig startup and unchecked most items. I'm more inclined to think it's some programs wanting to access internet, which of course you can't help me with.

I have registered every program but some of them like Adobe Elements 8, keep trying to access net. Also MSN Works 9, Encyclopedia Brit.

Well I'll check further.

Thanks Billy. If you learn any thing, let me know.

Billytwice-I am now looking into the possibility of this problem being caused by Adobe Reader 9. I updated it from the website, then closed it. When I reopened it the msn signin screen also opened. There could be some connection between AR9 and Works 9 as well and maybe IE8. I'll keep after it.

Matera-Yes Adobe does. Wants to download tons of stuff I'll never use. And Works has no updates available but still wants to open to the net. Ie8 is too much for me. I'm a simple net user.

Well I'm not sure yet if I've solved the problem completly, but so far so good. I removed Adobe Elements 8 from my pc and am not having the problems I had. It has always seemed to me that AE, any version, has always been very intrusive and proprietary. I have two other image editors that more than meet my demands, and don't give me these problems.

Thank again everyone for your comments.