I would highly suggest 'BC_Programmer' solution with: Start > Run > regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
If this solves the issue, it could sometimes later return, a good hint something is messing around with your registry settings.
Note: It might of been cause by a Registry cleaner. They are perfectly fine to use, so long you know what they are up to and under strict manual control. Some advance deep registry cleaning can mess up settings. Advanced SystemCare 3 is a great one to use and fully control.
Make sure your not running more than one background scanning process at a time - for example use only one anti-virus scanner and have all other cleaners, adware scanners, etc, as manual scanning only. Multiple active scanning can conflict, causing slowdowns, hanging, or even crashes.
As for checking your web-browser add-ons: Tools > Manage Add-ons
Test them one at a time, if you find it works fine without add-ons.
Ensure these aren't still stuck into memory when closing IE8. For example, the flash plugin 'FlashUtil10l_ActiveX.exe' loves to 'hang' around (pun intented), press Ctrl+Alt+Del > Windows Task Manager and you might still see it even when your've closed the browser or multiple 'iexplorer.exe' entries (check if they disappear after some time or not).
Disable Flash/Shockwave plug-ins, re-install to the latest version if they are a problem. Ensure your using the 32bit version of the Web-browser (IE8 has two versions 32bit and 64bit). The 64bit version doesn't fully support the flash plugin, if you want to still use it, uninstall the flash plugin and replace with Flash Player "Square" which enables 64-bit but is only in the beta stage.
Disabling any Java plug-in you might have. Java is a major slowdown, mostly affects page loading, well known to hang on scripts, and has security holes. If this is the issue, ensure you fully uninstall it and then fresh install the latest version if required.
Also you might want to disable: Download Helpers plugins, anything labeled with 'Not Verified', Adobe's stuff and Microsoft's junk: Live Sign-in Helper, Discuss, Research, and Windows Media Player, if there.
Use 'About:Blank' for your homepage for now: Tools > Internet Options > General > Homepage > Use Blank. Then test, this will make sure it's not a certain website causing the hang. Some virus scanners use link checker plugins for your web-browsers, this might be locking up.