Changing 'link' color is temp, needs 2 clicks

Version 6.3.8 - I hve set Tools->Options->Content-> Colors to show unaccessed links as green and accessed links as red. When a new page comes up, all links show as green, When I single click on a link, one of two things happens: 1) the link flashes red and then green before I am taken to the link address page OR 2) the link turns red and I have to single click again to get to the target page. In both cases, when I return to the original page the link I used green and has a narrow black box around it which disappears the next time I click on a different link, Thus when walking a page of links, I have no way of telling which links I have already accessed. Very annoying.