Just a brief update:
It seems the USB extension cable did have something to do with this issue. Since the original post, I have switched to an active cable (
http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPa...duct_Id=608129), which has nearly eliminated the problem, except for 1 or 2 reocurrences.
Still unsatisfied by the display of "advanced content", such as games and flash, though.