I've noticed that no matter which browser I use on my computer, some
specific websites load poorly (i.e., they take a long time to load,
they don't load any images, they load without colors/formatting and
have only text with white backgrounds etc.). It's quite weird, and
sometimes a problem, here are some sites for example:

Cnet.com
Bestbuy.com's online purchase system
myphotoalbum.com

also, I think it may have something to do with the way my computer
interprets stuff from akamai.net (which apparently backs a lot of big
websites). FYI, I've tried Firefox and IE, and I use McAfee Antivirus
and Proventia Firewall (both of which I switched from Norton
Antivirus/Internet Security which also had this problem). I've had
this problem for as long as I can remember and it never occurs on any
other PCs I use.

To answer some questions you may have:
Yes, I've tried installing/re-installing all the
browsers/anti-viurs/firewall stuff I have
Yes, I've cleared cookies/history/temp internet files/pop-up blockers/etc., etc.

Please help me solve this problem. It never was a real issue until I
tried making a purchase on Bestbuy.com and was unable to.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

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Clarification of Question by justwannaknow-ga on 03 Feb 2006 23:30 PST

Anybody? Somebody's gotta know what to do - thanks!

Try running this in a dos window:
netsh winsock reset catalog

It repairs your network stack. Your network stack can get corrupted by
installed/uninstalled firewalls and such. You can find more
information here:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/winsock.htm

If that fails....

Purchases are made using ssl (secure socket layer) connections to
servers which depend on a proper "reverse dns" for your IP address.
Try contacting your ISP regarding this. Just ask that they "check the
PTR for your IP address".