some more inputs....

SwordFish_13--------

a. though the issue is definitely similar it may not be limited just to the dial connection, because for us the issue occurs in office, network of may be more than 300-400 computers, however i've observed it on one computer at a time and next-time on some other computer, strange it may sound! (we do log on using our profiles, sometimes roaming profiles and sometimes on local computer however the applications are definitely local, have not tried
deleting profiles, that again would be equivalent to restarting the computer, so no way of checking whether that resolved it!?)

b. the hyperlinks not working issue was successfully taken care of by clearing cache, cookies and temp files..... in another case restarting didn't took care of it so cleared them in safe mode and that worked!!!! and yes, nihil, using the address bar definitely loads the page in case hyperlink doesn't work....

c. your observation may help, have not tried disconnection the network cable, to check whether going offline that makes the difference, will try that in case issue reoccurs

d. you are the only person, i know, who is able to reproduce this issue, try checking clip board for any corrupt data being pasted and also try clearing the clipboard


Und3ertak3r--------

a. yes i agree with SwordFish_13, the issue is across all applications in OS be it office applications like word, powerpoint etc or the win applications like notepad and IE

b. the paste option is available in the menu however the text is not being pasted, at the maximum it may paste a "space" instead of the desired text

hope this helps