Pages download to blank screen

I am having trouble on many websites (this very one was particularly difficult) to get pages to download. I will click on a link to go to website, or a page of a website, and when I get there, I get the background (blank) screen, and the lower left corner of the screen says "Done." I usually have to hit refresh once or twice before the page comes up. On many sites, the page doesn't come up even after several tries with the refresh key. Often times I will get a banner ad at the top of the page, but no content.

Please, I hope someone knows what causes this and what I need to adjust to fix it. (My guess is something to do with cookies or security, but I don't speak Geek, so please explain it as though I'm 6 years old!)

I use IE, on an HP Pavilion, I have Spyware Doctor and Norton installed. Windows XP Home. I am using high-speed cable internet connection.