I've been experiencing this problem for the last few days or so and can't
find a solution no matter how hard I look.

Basically whenever I try to run Windows Update the IE window in which it's
running stops responding after a few seconds of scanning. IE also freezes up
whenever I use the verification tools on the Microsoft website e.g. on the
page to download the IE7 RC, when I click the 'Verify' button the same thing
happens - the IE window freezes and I have to ctrl-alt-del in order to force
it to close. I'm not sure if this is solely an IE issue because the same
thing happens when I downloaded the Windows Media Player 11 beta and clicked
the 'Verify' button on the installer.

These are the only instances in which IE has stopped responding for me, all
other websites work fine.

This is very frustrating because I can't update windows (short of using
auto-update, which I don't want to use) nor can I download anything off
Microsoft.com that requires verification.