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1. Send To right click context menu showing "Mail Recipient.MAPIMail" instead of just "send to e-mail recipient."
   May require a registry edit
2. Import Netscape 6.1 Address Book Entries into Outlook Express
3. Outlook Express Shortcut Keys
4. What Connections on my computer are active at any given time?
5. AOL got a hold of your MSIE browser and won't let go?
   Try these tips
6. Cover your tracks with MSIE 5 and above
7. The Case of the Vanishing General Tab In Internet Explorer Options Dialog

The Case of the Vanishing General Tab In Internet Explorer Options Dialog

Reader Schneberk asks:

Answer: Microsoft Internet Explorer works fine with most Windows products. The only one it is not designed to get along with is Windows 95. There are several new patches for MSIE which, if you haven't already, you should get. Find them at the Windows Update Site or check with Bohunky0's Microsoft Bug of the Month. There is only an option to revert back to Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 with Windows 98.

The browser package is an integral part of the Operating System and can not be removed entirely. In Truth, I find MSIE 6.0 to be very stable and easy to use. Though I am rapidly becoming a reluctant fan of Netscape 7.1.

The problem which you describe seems to be coming up a lot lately. It strikes me that there may be a Trojan virus or a worm responsible. I haven't, as yet, looked into that theory but do intend to. The first thing we need to do is to get your General Tab back. Here are a few suggestions:

Suggestion 1
Solution II

Try an Explorer Repair
Note: This only works with Windows 98, 98 SE, and Me versions of MSIE 6.0

1. Open MSIE or go to Control Panel | Internet Options
2. Click Tools | Internet Options
3. Select the content Tab
4. Click the Auto Complete button
5. Click on the Clear Forms button
6. Click Okay
7. Click Apply
8. Click Okay
9. Close all instances of MSIE that may be running
10. Restart MSIE and attempt to locate a website again. the problem should now be resolved. If it isn't follow steps 1-4 above and this time, uncheck the header marked Web Address. Then follow steps 6-9 above.

Other problems involve porn sites. In the oft chance that you haven't viewed these articles, I suggest that you take a look at them. Sooner or later you will need them.

• Porn sites are getting pushy, so push back with these tips - The last word? God, I hope so!
• Got a Porn Popup Add At Startup? Hint: Think Spyware
  The same thing only different department

Cover your tracks with MSIE 5 and above

Emma asks,

Answer: Hi there yourself,

Though you do not say so, I show you using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.00.2800.1106 and I am going to assume, sense you are new to computing, that you are running Windows XP and hopefully you have downloaded and installed all applicable updates. Please see Bohunky0's Microsoft Bug of the Month for details on how to obtain and download the latest patches. The first two, that are listed: Cumulative Patch for Internet Explorer (822925) and Unchecked Buffer in DirectX Could Enable System Compromise (819696) are the ones you should concern yourself with immediately if you haven't already done so. SoBig is a real nasty, so make certain that your virus definitions are upt to date. Please click here to learn more about this worm. It goes without saying, that is why I am saying it, never open an email attachemt from anyone until you have confirmed, from that person, that an attachemt actually was sent to you.

Now, to clear the search history:

The best way to clear the history list, completely, is to do the following:

1. Open MSIE
2. Click Tools | Internet Options
3. On the General Tab
4. Move down to the History list and click on the Clear History button
5. This will clean out the stored history for you computer.

1. If switched on, the AutoComplete function will type out previously visited sites if you type the first few letters of the address. It's designed to save time, but if you have visited, lets say, "www.yummysexpots.com" and someone uses the computer after you and wants to go to Yahoo and they type in "www.y" the browser will auto-suggest www.yummysexpots.com, which you may not want.

The best way to perform these types of actions is to edit the System Registry. As you are new to computing, I do not advise this. However, if you would like to learn more about it then please visit my Bo's Tweaky Clean Windows site.

Clear The Microsoft Internet Explorer Autocomplete History

You should, periodically clear the cookies off of your system. Many pieces of spyware are activated by these types of cookies. What is spyware? Please see All you ever wanted to know about Web 3000. You will find, on this site, several tools to assist you in keeping your system, squeaky clean.

HOW SOBIG WORKS - SoBig, Is So Bad
See also THE INFECTED EMAIL MESSAGE
SoBig is a program that runs on an infected computer.  A computer can be infected via an email attachment.

Once SoBig is running, it scans your hard drive for email addresses.  This can be anyones email address, not just yours.  It doesn't just look in your address book but also any web pages that are stored on your hard drive.

A goldmine of addresses is usually gathered from the browsers folder of recently viewed pages pages - in Internet Explorer that's the Temporary Internet Files folder/s.

We won't go into the details here .. see below for some links with plenty of technical info.  The important point is that email addresses are stolen from all sorts of places on a computer.

Once SoBig has those addresses it starts sending out infected email messages. See 'The Infected Email Message' below for details.

Those infected messages are marked as coming

FROM: one of the stolen email addresses
TO:  another of the stolen email addresses

Vital Point:  The message will almost invariably NOT really come from the email address shown.

Don't blame the apparent FROM email address in an infected message - not only is the person probably not infected, they are totally unaware that a message has been sent in their name.

There's no practical way to trace the source of the infected messages, at least not for those of us who don't do anti-virus tracking for a living. In the current attack the messages may well be coming from multiple sources.

SoBig uses it's own SMTP server to send out infected messages which means you don't have to have a email program running and it is harder to trace the source of infection.

The best thing you can do is delete the infected messages and make sure you are not infected yourself.

The worm itself isn't new, but this is a new variant on a known baddie

THE INFECTED EMAIL MESSAGE
We've seen a lot of misinformation on this in the last few hours, from people who should know better, which is the main reason why Woody and Peter decided to get this issue out quickly.

SoBig infected messages have several characteristics that can help identify them both manually and by spam filters.

The messages also have one of these subject lines:

>  Re: Details
>  Re: Approved
>  Re: My details
>  Re: Thank you!
>  Re: That movie
>  Re: Wicked screensaver
>  Re: Your application
>  Thank you!
>  Your details

Of course, you could get legitimate emails with these subjects, which is why they are used.

So we feel that trapping for the infected attachments is a more reliable method in the long run.  Sadly not all mail filters have this feature (hello Microsoft) even though it is obvious and would be really useful.

The messages all have an attachment with one of these names:

- your_document.pif
- document_all.pif
- thank_you.pif
- your_details.pif
- details.pif
- document_9446.pif
- application.pif
- wicked_scr.scr
- movie0045.pif

If your mail filter can do it, trap for ALL .PIF and .SCR files and delete the messages.   It's unlikely that anyone sensible would be sending out messages with those attachments - at least not these days.

AOL got a hold of your MSIE browser and won't let go?
Try these tips

I am a bit confused here Jeff (Nothing new in that I confuse real easy). Are you saying that you have two versions of MSIE 6.0 SP-1 on your system? That's a new one on me. In subsequent email, Jeff reports that he indeed only has the one version of MSIE on his system. My mistook Jeff!

• Check out the SFC option here for Windows XP only.
• If you have Windows 98 or 98 SE the System file checker is a tad different. click here, I'll Explain.
• If you do have Win 9.x, you can use the MSIE Repair Tool. Here is how:

If after reading these solutions, if anyone has a good reliable fix, Jeff and I are all ears. Of course in my case, being all ears, keeps me warm in the winter and shaded in the summer.

I find it strange that there are two versions of MSIE on your system. I am going to assume that you have gone to the add/remove section (Start | Control Panel | Add or Remove Programs | Choose anything which says AOL). If you have done all of this and there are still two MSIE's on your desktop, simply delete the short cuts to the AOL version. I really doubt that there are two version of the same program on the system. They wouldn't live together very well.

• Do you get the AOL Logo in the upper left hand corner of the browser?
• Is it the same with Outlook Express?
• This assumes that the logos appear in each version you are using. If I am wrong in this, do not attempt this fix, it isn't your problem. If, on the other hand it is, then try these next steps:
  1. Close all open MSIE windows
  2. This fix may require you to edit the system registry.
     
     Warning: The system registry controls all aspects of your operating system. Using the Registry editor incorrectly may result in loss of data or prohibit your computer from booting into your GUI (General User Interface=Windows). Blaisdell's Little Corner of the Web, Bohunky0, nor any of its affiliates can or will take responsibility for damage done by using the Registry Editor. You, the end user, assumes any and all risks.
     
  3. Before we get to the system registry, give this a try:
     • One method for removing the branding without having to tinker
       with the Registry is.
       
       1. Close Internet Explorer if it's open.
       2. Click on the START button, then click on "Run..."  A box will open.
       3. Type the following line in the box exactly as shown then press
       OK and restart Internet Explorer.  ("Clear" is case sensitive)
       
       rundll32.exe iedkcs32.dll,Clear
       
• If that was a no go, then you can try this, but this is a registry edit so be sure to head the Warning above. There are only three things to remember when editing any system file. Those things are:
  1. Back it up!
  2. Back it up!!
  3. Back it up!!!
• If you do not know how to back up the system registry, click here for instruction.
• Once you have backed up the system registry, it is time for the edit.
  1. Click Start | Run | and type: REGEDIT
  2. Click okay
  3. The system registry editor opens in a Windows Explorer like window
  4. Using Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:

     HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\

  5. In the right hand pane, scroll down the list and highlight (By clicking on it) Window Title

  6. Right click on Window Title and choose delete

  7. When you delete this value, "Microsoft Internet Explorer" becomes the default window title.

  8. Click file | Exit to close out the Registry Editor

  9. Start your MSIE program. the AOL logo should now be replaced with the default MSIE logo.

If that did not do the trick, we can try something else. Remember, this is for Windows XP only. There is pretty much the same thing in Win 9.x but it is slightly different. So, if you have Win XP, give this a try:

The System File Checker Scan Now option:

1. Place your Windows XP installation disk into the CD-ROM.
2. If you have autorun on data enabled, close the dialog when it comes up.
3. Click Start | Run and type "sfc /scannow" (without the quotes and notice the space between the command SFC and the switch /.) 
4. Be prepared to go get a cup of coffee - it takes a while.  This will do the same thing as Repair IE6 for XP but a lot more. It will find any corrupt system files and replace them.  It does not, however, re-register the various software components (except possibly the ones it replaces)
5. Once finished, it would be a good idea to click Start | Turn off computer | Restart.

After Windows reboots and you are back into the GUI, open MSIE and see if the browser is fixed.

If you are using Windows 98 or 98 SE the System File Checker is a bit different, but the idea is pretty much the same.
SFC with Win 98 or 98 SE (Windows Me doesn't use the SFC it has file protection)

1. Click Start | Run | and type:
   
   SFC
   
2. Click Okay or hit the enter key on your keyboard
3. System File Checker Dialog will appear
4. You can configure it to search for deleted or missing files, older files, files in certain subdirectories, and so on.
5. On the first tab, simply click Start to begin the scan.
6. The Win 98 version of the SFC requires your input unlike the one with XP. You will need to pay close attention to the screen and decide rather you want to Update, Remove, Restore and so forth any files that the SFC discovers that may be corrupted.
7. Yuo can also use SFC to extract a version of a file from the Installation CD.
8. This is a powerful tool. A word to the wise, use it sparingly and only if you are consistently having problems.
9. If SFC dose discover that MSIE isn't the right version, you may have to go to the windows update center to re-install any service packs or patches.

Try the Win 9.x MSIE Repair Tool [Win 9.x only]
If you do have Windows 98, 98 SE, or Win Me. You can use the MSIE repair tool. Here is how;

1. Click Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs
2. On the General Tab, click on any file in the list so that it is highlighted
3. Press the "M" key on your keyboard
4. This brings you to all programs beginning with the letter "M".
5. Scroll down the list until you come to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 (May have SP-1 or AOL8, or other wording but the idea is the same) and Internet Tools.
6. Click on the line so that it is highlighted
7. Click the Add/Remove button (I know, trust me)
8. In the resultant dialog, select the Repair Explorer radio button
9. Click okay
10. Follow any and all on screen prompts and be sure to reboot when finished.
11. You may be tempted to Hit Ctrl+Alt+Del as the hard drive activity may not be showing any signs of activity for long periods of time. This would be a huge mistake. Long periods of inactivity only means that the repair tool is examining the System Registry and may be writing to it. If you firmly believe that the system is locked, turn your computer off with the Power button, not the Reset button. Wait about 10 seconds and power back on. Never, ever, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart the system during the process. If you do, you will be forced to re-install Windows and that is a weekend job to be sure.
12. Once finished. Try your MSIE Browser Properties once again.

You may have to reinstall MSIE. Click here to learn how. Back to Windows XP

If you find it is necessary to do a re-install of MSIE then try the following (Again, Windows XP only).

1. Place your Windows XP installation disk into the CD-ROM, following steps 1&2 above.
2. Click Start | Run | Type
   
   rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 C:\windows\inf\ie.inf
   
3. Follow any and all onscreen prompts and be sure to reboot the system when finished.

How to reinstall MSIE 6.0 if you need to

When you try to reinstall the same version of Internet Explorer, you may receive the following error message:

To avoid this error message and reinstall the same version of Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, follow these steps:

1. While you are logged on as an administrator, click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.  Remember the Warning?
3. Locate the appropriate registry subkey, right-click the IsInstalled (REG_DWORD) value, and then click Modify.
   
   To reinstall only the Internet Explorer 6 browser component on Windows XP, use the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383}

   

   To reinstall only Outlook Express 6 on Windows XP, use the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}

4. Change the value data from 1 to 0, and then click OK.
5. Quit Registry Editor, and then install Internet Explorer 6.
6. To reinstall Windows XP updates, visit the following Microsoft Windows Update Web site:

   http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

By default, Internet Explorer 6 is preinstalled in all versions of Windows XP and cannot be removed. To provide computer manufacturers more flexibility in configuring desktop versions of Windows XP, Microsoft has made it possible for OEMs, administrators, and users to remove user access to Internet Explorer while leaving the Internet Explorer code intact and fully functional to make sure the functionality of programs and operating system functions that rely on it. For example, Windows XP supports an "IEAccess=off" switch in the Unattend.txt file, and Internet Explorer has been added to the Add/Remove Windows Components section of the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. This does not reinstall Internet Explorer.

What Connections on my computer are active at any given time?

Question: I was wondering how can I find out what Connections on my computer are active at any given time?

Answer: That is simple enough to discover. Here is how:

1. Connect to the internet or to your LAN network
2. Click Start | Run | Type: CMD
3. click okay or hit the enter key on your keyboard
4. At the prompt type: netstat -an
5. Hit the enter key.
6. A list of open ports and their status will be displayed.
7. for a more detailed stat report just type netstat without the -an switch
8. To see what the switch options are just type netstat /? and hit the enter key. The display looks like this:

Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP network connections.

NETSTAT [-a] [-e] [-n] [-o] [-s] [-p proto] [-r] [interval]

  -a            Displays all connections and listening ports.
  -e            Displays Ethernet statistics. This may be combined with the -s
                 option.
  -n            Displays addresses and port numbers in numerical form.
  -o            Displays the owning process ID associated with each connection.
  -p proto    Shows connections for the protocol specified by proto; proto
                 may be any of: TCP, UDP, TCPv6, or UDPv6.  If used with the -s
                 option to display per-protocol statistics, proto may be any of:
                 IP, IPv6, ICMP, ICMPv6, TCP, TCPv6, UDP, or UDPv6.
  -r             Displays the routing table.
  -s            Displays per-protocol statistics.  By default, statistics are
                 shown for IP, IPv6, ICMP, ICMPv6, TCP, TCPv6, UDP, and UDPv6;
                 the -p option may be used to specify a subset of the default.
  interval     Redisplays selected statistics, pausing interval seconds
                between each display.  Press CTRL+C to stop redisplaying
                statistics.  If omitted, netstat will print the current
                configuration information once.

On a side note: This is a good way to determine if the Active Directory on your Windows XP machine is active.

Outlook Express Shortcut Keys

We have been getting some email of late concerning the shortcut keyboard keys for Outlook Express. The below is a detailed list of those shortcut keys.

Table of Contents

Main window, view message window, and send message window.. 1
Main window and view message window.. 1
Main window.. 1
Message window—viewing or sending. 2
Message window - sending only

 Main window, view message window, and send message window

Main window and view message window  

Main window

Message window—viewing or sending

Message window - sending only

Import Netscape 6.1 Address Book Entries into Outlook Express

Question: where the address books is storing in Netscape Navigator 6.1. becuase i want to export the address book to outlook express. Please tell me how to do it.  - Ramesh

Answwer: To export address book entries from Netscape Communicator so you can import them into Outlook Express

    1. In Netscape Communicator, choose Address Book from the Communicator menu.
    2. Select the address book that you want to export.
    3. From the File menu in the Address Book window, choose Export.
    4. Type a name for the exported address book.
    5. Choose the LDIF file format.
    6. Click Save. Remember the location where you saved the address book file, so you can find it when you're ready to          import it into Outlook Express. The file will have a .LDIF extension.

Now, to import those address into Outlook Express do the following:
    1. Open Outlook Express
    2. Click File | Other Address Book
    3. Click on LDIF format in the import wizard
    4. Click Import button
    5. Navigate to the location in which you saved the exported LDIF file from Netscape
    6. Highlight the file by clicking on it
    7. Click on the Open button
    8. Follow any onscreen prompts to finish the import of the LDIF file into OE

Send To right click context menu showing "Mail Recipient.MAPIMail" instead of just "send to e-mail recipient."
May require a registry edit

Got a problem you can't find on these pages? Click here and tell me about it

Attention Telemarketers:

I do not allow organizations to use my name or to contact me to make solicitations other than as permitted in my Junkbusters Declaration.

Version Dec 7 Copyright © 2001 Larry Blaisdell