Where's my Internet Explorer gone?

[B K]

You said GIMP came with "a load of unwanted stuff". So that means you downloaded it from the wrong website, and not the official one. At http://www.gimp.org - because GIMP really is free and safe, and the real GIMP comes with nothing extra. And that is the only place you can get the genuine software safely.

Heaven only knows what you've downloaded.

The popups you are getting are nothing to do with Google, your computer is infected with malware/adware or a virus - that's the source of the popups!!!

You had better do an antivirus scan, and possibly an ant-malware scan. Next time find the official site before you download any software. You need to be more careful. The internet is a dangerous place for dummies.

Malwarebytes free version can remove most adware/malware. https://www.malwarebytes.org/

If you want free antivirus software, then get AVG free here: http://free.avg.com

And by the way, Internet Explorer is not safe. Get a proper browser like Google Chrome or Firefox. Both are free.