Schvenn.net

This is one setting that is often overlooked. Proxy Servers have many purposes and most of them are legitimate, but of course anytime you have a legitimate use for something, someone will try to spoil that.

Malware (Spyware & Adware) or Viruses will often use the Proxy Servers on your computer to redirect you to their software hosted on your computer or a remote server that is being utilized for any number of nefarious deeds. This process is called browser hijacking. Of course, there are far more effective ways that Browser Hijackers can accomplish the same thing, but this is the easiest one to detect.

By the same token, Firewalls and Anti-Virus software will also often take over your Proxy Servers, but in an effort to protect you. Not surprisingly, this sometimes goes awry. When that happens, it's usually a simple matter of disabling the Proxy Servers in order to correct this problem.

From the Internet Options screen click on the Connections tab. At the bottom right of the window click LAN Settings. A new window will open. Make sure only Automatically detect settings is checked. Everything else should be unchecked. If you had to change any of these settings, click OK, OK and restart your browser. That's it.

The Internet Cache is a group of files and folders that browsers save on your computer as you visit different sites. This allows pages that you visit frequently to load faster. However, if your Internet Cache becomes too large, it can become cumbersome. So, cleaning this out regularly is a good idea.

Cookies on the other hand, are small files stored on your computer for the purpose of providing greater functionality to your Internet experience. The point is that Cookies are specifically created by site designers to be saved on your computer. These files will store things like your site preferences, information about your last visit and even login information. The challenge is that these sometimes get damaged, outdated or otherwise disfunctional. When that happens, a site that you previously visited might stop working properly. So, let's clear them, also.

You can clear the Cookies and other Temporary Internet Files (Cache) for Internet Explorer from the General tab of Internet Options.

• Internet Explorer 6
• Internet Explorer 7+

In older versions of Internet Explorer you would have to click on separate buttons for Delete Cookies and Delete Files under the Temporary Internet Files heading and answer each confirmation window.

In current versions you click the Delete button under Browser Settings. A new window will open and you then place checkmarks beside all the items you want to erase and press Delete again.

Of course, Internet Explorer isn't the only player on the market and most people these days use more than one browser. Enter CCleaner. It's a great program for keeping your system optimized by clearing out common junk files. I recommend you run it weekly, or monthly, at the very least. It won't just discard junk files for one browser, but all of them, as well as Windows junk files and a lot more. Don't worry. It's very safe. I've used it for years and I've never had a problem with it erasing anything it shouldn't have. It's brainlessly easy, too. Run the program and click Run Cleaner in the bottom, right corner. That's it. You don't have to mess around with the settings unless you want to do so.

The fun comes with seeing how much space you will save the first time you run it. I've run it on peoples' computers for them and seen anywhere from 100MB's to over 7GB's of files being eliminated. You can bet that last computer saw a huge performance increase after it was done.

Look in the bottom right corner of your screen, at the clock. Is the time right? Does it say AM or PM? Make sure the date is right and the time is right. If your clock is off by even 1 hour, Secure Websites will often not work. It might be something to do with ensuring you're not in a different time-zone, hacking into a computer from the opposite sides of the world or something like that. To be honest, I don't really know and have yet to find a suitable answer. Regardless, you'll need to right-click it and adjust your date and time if they're incorrect.

If Your Computer Keeps Losing Time

If you keep losing time on your computer, then your CMOS battery is dying and you need to replace it. That's probably the only thing on a computer that anyone can replace, no matter how paranoid they are about opening the case. In 99% of all computers, the CMOS battery is a CR2032 that you can replace in under a minute. You turn off your computer, open the case, ground yourself by touching the power supply, locate the battery, pop it out and replace it with the new one. The battery usually has a little spring mechanism one side that will release it. Be careful, but don't be paranoid. They cost about $1 and are about the same size as an American real silver quarter. Actually, I bought a package of three CR2032's for $1 at the buck store not too long ago.

Not being able to open any links is not as common as being unable to open secure websites, but they are often related. So, rather than differentiate them, we're going to fix both at the same time. Yes, this is a bit of overkill, but it works, so don't knock it.

Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, Notepad. Next, copy and paste all of these commands into Notepad:

regsvr32 mshtml.dll
regsvr32 mshtmled.dll
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 softpub.dll
regsvr32 wintrust.dll
regsvr32 initpki.dll
regsvr32 dssenh.dll
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll
regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll
regsvr32 sccbase.dll
regsvr32 slbcsp.dll
regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll

Save the file on your Desktop as FixIE.bat. Then, double-click the newly created icon on your Desktop. You're going to get a whole bunch of confirmation windows that DLLRegisterServer succeeded. Just press OK for each one. I haven't tried re-registering all of these files on every version of Windows since XP SP2, so I'm not sure if some of them may not work, but if it fixes your problem, then who cares, right? It's not going to hurt.

These steps are much simpler:

• First, get another Browser, if you don't already have a second one.
• Try the site(s) you're having problems with in the other browser(s).
• Do they work properly? If so, update or reinstall the browser that isn't working properly.

There is sometimes a less drastic option for Internet Explorer. Since version 8, Microsoft has offered Compatibility Mode. When you encounter a site that doesn't work quite right in Internet Explorer, look at the end of the address bar for the Compatibility View icon. It looks like a ripped piece of paper. If you see that icon, click it. Reload the page, or log out of the site and back in again. It may very well work for you now. Finally, something Microsoft did well.

Take the tinfoil hat off. You thought you were being safe, but you were just being paranoid. If you're unable to get to sites that you used to visit or you want to visit and you know you've changed settings in your browser, in an attempt to be safe, then you probably locked yourself down too well. In the Internet Options window click on the Security tab. If you're screen looks like this:

then you probably did this to yourself. So, press the button labeled Restore all zones to default level, then press Apply and OK.

This is what your screen should look like:

Customize the settings if you wish. Just don't change things that you don't really understand. Otherwise, you'll probably be back here a lot, until you've memorized how to undo your changes.

Personally, I think the default levels Medium-High are more than safe enough. You can always get programs like WOT (Web Of Trust) if you want an extra layer of security and advice.

Okay, Security settings are usually user error. In other words, "it was all your fault!" That's not necessarily the case with the Advanced Settings, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. We're going to do the same thing here though, restore.

Open Internet Options and click on the Advanced tab.

• Internet Explorer 6
• Internet Explorer 7+

Click Restore Defaults, Apply and OK.

Click Restore Advanced Settings and then Reset. A new window opens. Place a checkmark in Delete Personal Settings if you wish. Then press Reset, Close and OK.

If you've locked yourself out of sites because of the Content Advisor, then Disable it or adjust the Settings. If you've forgotten the Password though, there's no way of getting it back.

There are however, ways of getting rid of it. Download and run the Content Advisor Password Remover from NirSoft and you can start over. Next time though, remember your Password.

So, if none of the fixes above worked or you can't even get that far because the browser crashes, then it's time for some heavy lifting. That was a metaphorical statement. Put that computer back down. You don't need to throw it out the window, but I'm sure you want to by now. Instead, let's repair the programs.

Reinstall

If you're using an after-market browser like Firefox or Chrome, then just reinstall it. Usually, reinstalling over top of the current installation is enough. Sometimes however, you might need to uninstall the old version, reboot and reinstall the new version.

Fix IE Utility

With Internet Explorer there are some alternatives before you go that far. First, we'll start with the Fix IE Utility. Download the program, run it and press Run Utility and then press Exit. Restart your browser when it's done and see if it worked. I've used it to help dozens of people repair their otherwise non-functioning Internet Explorer.

Dial-A-Fix

If even that didn't work, then there might be some damage to important Windows components. There's a few things we can do still. The first is to download and run Dial-A-Fix. It looks far more daunting than it is. It's also not designed for all versions of Windows, but don't worry. It won't damage anything. Once it's running click the double checkmarks at the bottom left of the screen to Select All and then press Go. Wait for the program to finish and then restart your computer. Hopefully, the problems you were experiencing are gone.

SFC /SCANNOW

Finally, there's an internal Windows command that people often overlook. You may need your Windows Install or System Restore disk handy in order for it to work successfully, though. Keep it on hand and if the program asks you for it, put the disk in your drive.

Begin by clicking Start, All Programs, Accessories, Command Prompt.

In the DOS window that opens up, type the following command and press Enter.

sfc /scannow

That program can take anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes to complete. Once it's done, you may need to reboot your PC, if it changed anything.

Reinstall Internet Explorer

If you've made it this far and Internet Explorer is still not working, you can now try reinstalling it. If it still doesn't work, it's time to take your computer to a technician. Sorry, but I tried.