I've heard reports of congestion on the Net the last few days, though I haven't noticed much myself since I have a DSL line. It's possible that SOBIG traffic is the culprit. I've been getting a couple of dozen every day.

That text you're seeing is part of the HTTP (Web) protocol, and is normally invislble. It's the preamble to a Web page, and the browser should never display it. Very odd. The last line makes me wonder if you're using one of those accelerator services. They generally compress the data, and cache it in various computers around the Net that are theoretically closer to you than the site you're trying to reach. Those things may screw up your browser (though I'm just guessing).