jisin63

awesome, do u have a link? I installed the latest version of autoit and it didn't seem to be included.

I thought autoit only works with scripting, not just simply clicking? Is there a plugin or is it part of it?

A long time ago I heard of a program that can be used to emulate the mouse and keyboard, theoretically used to install programs. Here's my situation. My computer has an OEM restore disk. Fine, I'll use it without dealing with the Unattended thing. But I want to make a DVD with all my other programs that would install at my leisure (basically autorun.) Among the programs would be office 2003, Adobe 7.0, spybot, etc. It's really for my dad, so it must be as simple as poppng it in. I prefer not to deal with scripts, just click and type. Thanks all!

Here's my log file, i know igps.exe is part of the problem, but what else? I got crazy popups every minute. Tried all the programs, no help. Any solutions? Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1 Scan saved at 7:59:27 PM, on 12/1/2005 Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600) MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180) Running processes: C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe C:\WINDOWS\System32\Ati2evxx.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSetMgr.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\AOL\ACS\AOLacsd.exe C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\DefWatch.exe C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\SavRoam.exe C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\Rtvscan.exe C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\VAIO Entertainment\VzCdb\VzFw.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE C:\WINDOWS\system32\ezSP_Px.exe C:\Program Files\DIGStream\digstream.exe C:\Program Files\ESPNRunTime\DIGServices.exe C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe C:\Documents and Settings\Michael\Desktop\HijackThis1991.exe R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.sony.com/vaiopeople R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://red.clientapps.yahoo.com/customize/...rch/search.html R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://red.clientapps.yahoo.com/customize/...//www.yahoo.com R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - _{00D6A7E7-4A97-456f-848A-3B75BF7554D7} - (no file) R3 - URLSearchHook: (no name) - _{855F3B16-6D32-4fe6-8A56-BBB695989046} - (no file) N3 - Netscape 7: user_pref("browser.search.defaultengine", "engine://C%3A%5CPROGRA%7E1%5CNetscape%5CNetscape%5Csearchplugins%5CSBWeb_01.src"); (C:\Documents and Settings\Michael\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\4e33cqua.slt\prefs.js) O3 - Toolbar: AOL Toolbar - {4982D40A-C53B-4615-B15B-B5B5E98D167C} - C:\Program Files\AOL Toolbar\toolbar.dll (file missing) O3 - Toolbar: SuperBar - {FD020830-9D53-4DE4-8739-DB020258D684} - C:\Program Files\SUPERBAR\SUPERBAR1.dll (file missing) O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar1.dll O3 - Toolbar: ICQ Toolbar - {855F3B16-6D32-4fe6-8A56-BBB695989046} - C:\Program Files\ICQToolbar\toolbaru.dll (file missing) O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ezShieldProtector for Px] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ezSP_Px.exe O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [lspins] "C:\WINDOWS\system32\igps.exe" O8 - Extra context menu item: &AIM Search - res://C:\Program Files\AIM Toolbar\AIMBar.dll/aimsearch.htm O8 - Extra context menu item: &AOL Toolbar search - res://C:\Program Files\AOL Toolbar\toolbar.dll/SEARCH.HTML O8 - Extra context menu item: &Google Search - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmsearch.html O8 - Extra context menu item: &ICQ Toolbar Search - res://C:\Program Files\ICQToolbar\toolbaru.dll/SEARCH.HTML O8 - Extra context menu item: Backward Links - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmbacklinks.html O8 - Extra context menu item: Cached Snapshot of Page - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmcache.html O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://D:\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000 O8 - Extra context menu item: Similar Pages - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmsimilar.html O8 - Extra context menu item: Translate into English - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar1.dll/cmtrans.html O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_03\bin\npjpi150_03.dll O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_03\bin\npjpi150_03.dll O9 - Extra button: Spyware Doctor - {2D663D1A-8670-49D9-A1A5-4C56B4E14E84} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYWAR~1\tools\iesdpb.dll O9 - Extra button: AOL Toolbar - {4982D40A-C53B-4615-B15B-B5B5E98D167C} - C:\Program Files\AOL Toolbar\toolbar.dll (file missing) O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: AOL Toolbar - {4982D40A-C53B-4615-B15B-B5B5E98D167C} - C:\Program Files\AOL Toolbar\toolbar.dll (file missing) O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL O9 - Extra button: AIM - {AC9E2541-2814-11d5-BC6D-00B0D0A1DE45} - C:\Program Files\AIM\aim.exe O9 - Extra button: Real.com - {CD67F990-D8E9-11d2-98FE-00C0F0318AFE} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\Shdocvw.dll O9 - Extra button: eBay - Homepage - {EF79EAC5-3452-4E02-B8BD-BA4C89F1AC7A} - C:\Program Files\IrfanView\Ebay\Ebay.htm O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe O14 - IERESET.INF: START_PAGE_URL=http://www.sony.com/vaiopeople O16 - DPF: {341FF14B-00CB-49F5-A427-A164DF1D5E1F} (MALPlaybackCtrl Class) - http://musicstore.connect.com/assets/activ...ALStreaming.cab O16 - DPF: {B38870E4-7ECB-40DA-8C6A-595F0A5519FF} (MsnMessengerSetupDownloadControl Class) - http://messenger.msn.com/download/MsnMesse...pDownloader.cab O17 - HKLM\System\CS1\Services\Tcpip\Parameters: SearchList = usc.edu O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\Parameters: SearchList = usc.edu O20 - Winlogon Notify: MS-DOS Emulation - C:\WINDOWS\system32\fp6q03j5e.dll O20 - Winlogon Notify: NavLogon - C:\WINDOWS\system32\NavLogon.dll O23 - Service: AOL Connectivity Service (AOL ACS) - America Online, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\AOL\ACS\AOLacsd.exe O23 - Service: AOL Spyware Protection Service (AOLService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\AOL\AOL Spyware Protection\\aolserv.exe (file missing) O23 - Service: Ati HotKey Poller - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\System32\Ati2evxx.exe O23 - Service: Symantec Event Manager (ccEvtMgr) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccEvtMgr.exe O23 - Service: Symantec Password Validation (ccPwdSvc) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccPwdSvc.exe O23 - Service: Symantec Settings Manager (ccSetMgr) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\ccSetMgr.exe O23 - Service: Symantec AntiVirus Definition Watcher (DefWatch) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\DefWatch.exe O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe O23 - Service: iPodService - Apple Computer, Inc. - D:\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe O23 - Service: PACSPTISVR - Unknown owner - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\SONYSH~1\AVLib\PACSPT~1.EXE O23 - Service: Pml Driver HPZ12 - HP - C:\WINDOWS\system32\HPZipm12.exe O23 - Service: Remote Packet Capture Protocol v.0 (experimental) (rpcapd) - Unknown owner - %ProgramFiles%\WinPcap\rpcapd.exe" -d -f "%ProgramFiles%\WinPcap\rpcapd.ini (file missing) O23 - Service: SAVRoam (SavRoam) - symantec - C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\SavRoam.exe O23 - Service: Symantec Network Drivers Service (SNDSrvc) - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SNDSrvc.exe O23 - Service: Sony SPTI Service (SPTISRV) - Sony Corporation - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\SONYSH~1\AVLib\Sptisrv.exe O23 - Service: Symantec AntiVirus - Symantec Corporation - C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\Rtvscan.exe O23 - Service: VAIO Entertainment Aggregation and Control Service - Sony Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\VAIO Entertainment\VzRs\VzRs.exe O23 - Service: VAIO Entertainment File Import Service - Sony Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\VAIO Entertainment\VzCdb\VzFw.exe O23 - Service: VAIO Entertainment TV Device Arbitration Service - Sony Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\VAIO Entertainment\VzCs\VzHardwareResourceManager\VzHardwareResourceManager.exe O23 - Service: VAIO Entertainment UPnP Client Adapter - Sony Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sony Shared\VAIO Entertainment\VCSW\VCSW.exe O23 - Service: VAIO Media Integrated Server (VAIOMediaPlatform-IntegratedServer-AppServer) - Sony Corporation - C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio media integrated server\VMISrv.exe O23 - Service: VAIO Media Integrated Server (HTTP) (VAIOMediaPlatform-IntegratedServer-HTTP) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio media integrated server\Platform\SV_Httpd.exe" /Service=VAIOMediaPlatform-IntegratedServer-HTTP /RegRoot="SOFTWARE\Sony Corporation\VAIO Media Platform\2.0" /RegExt="Applications\IntegratedServer\HTTP (file missing) O23 - Service: VAIO Media Integrated Server (UPnP) (VAIOMediaPlatform-IntegratedServer-UPnP) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio media integrated server\Platform\UPnPFramework.exe (file missing) O23 - Service: VAIO Media Gateway Server (VAIOMediaPlatform-Mobile-Gateway) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio media integrated server\Platform\VmGateway.exe" /Service=VAIOMediaPlatform-Mobile-Gateway /RegRoot="SOFTWARE\Sony Corporation\VAIO Media Platform\2.0" /RegExt="\Addons\Packages\Mobile\Gateway" /DisplayName="VAIO Media Gateway Server (file missing) O23 - Service: VAIO Media Video Server (VAIOMediaPlatform-VideoServer-AppServer) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio media integrated server\Video\GPVSvr.exe" /Service=VAIOMediaPlatform-VideoServer-AppServer /DisplayName="VAIO Media Video Server (file missing) O23 - Service: VAIO Media Video Server (HTTP) (VAIOMediaPlatform-VideoServer-HTTP) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio media integrated server\Platform\SV_Httpd.exe" /Service=VAIOMediaPlatform-VideoServer-HTTP /RegRoot="SOFTWARE\Sony Corporation\VAIO Media Platform\2.0" /RegExt="\Applications\VideoServer\HTTP (file missing) O23 - Service: VAIO Media Video Server (UPnP) (VAIOMediaPlatform-VideoServer-UPnP) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio media integrated server\Platform\UPnPFramework.exe (file missing)

Thanks Martin. I actually know how to create skins, I was looking for a source for the 128 by 128 icons to manipulate for the skin.

I use K-Meleon as my primary browser ( see K-Meleon ) I would like to make a skin for it to compliment XPize. Any ideas how to start?

Anybody figure out the task manager/shutdown screen solution yet???

What do you propose to do about prefetch? You know you can change it's behavior in the registry: prefetch. Do you have a suggestion to improve it's performance? One idea is to not have prefetch scan in the background, but rather load the programs that are listed in the most used programs of the start menu. Can you guys think of another way? Other programs to be improved upon?

Ya, I could throw together a quick Java gui. But I'm looking for some input here. Is this a good idea? I mean, take spoolsv. It should not start-up unless I ask it too (I print every 3 days) and it should either shut down the second it finishes or turn off after a certain time. Can anyone think of other services that should be improved? Maybe re-written all together? I would like to refer everyone to Black Viper for reference. Cheers.

Ok, so we all know that closing unneeded services saves resources. Alas, there are many, many that need to be always on or set to manual to have some functionality. The annoying thing is, most of these services don't stop when they aren't needed anymore. The one exception is IMAPI, which is the built-in CD burning service of XP. It's on when you need it, off when you don't. I believe that most, if not all services can have this functionality. I recently found a program called Winserv. I think it can do the trick. Any thoughts?

Here are some more: List of the keyboard shortcuts that are available in Windows XP

Um, the reason that Firefox isn't so much faster then IE is the fact that it uses the XUI interface to make it's GUI. While it allows really cool and easy to write interfaces (hence the name eXtensible User Interface), it is platform-independent, and is slower then it ought to be. Therefore, the performance increase of mozilla is overshadowed by the GUI. However, other mozilla-based browsers, like K-Meleon, use the the native interface of Windows plus have the security, extensibility and "lightness" of mozilla.But with all that said, it's really cool to hear your on the IE 7 team. I heard good things about it, but I know it won't be as resource efficient as we all would like. I seriously suggest you and the team check out K-meleon, it's all open-source: K-Meleon If IE 7 was as tight as K Meleon and had as many setting as K-Meleon, I see no reason why not to stay with the native IE 7 (K-Meleon isn't updated as much as it should be.) P.S. I don't work on K-Meleon, I have just chose it through elimination.

Well there's nothing *wrong* with it, I would just really prefer to have both working. Also, I still want to have the original three-button shutdown menu. Thanks for all your help so far!

I've been searching for awhile, but I still haven't found the solution. I am the only person who uses this computer, so I want to disable the Welcome Screen and Fast User Switching. However, I want to keep the original setup: I want ctrl-alt-del to bring up the Task Manager and I want the shut down prompt to be the three simple buttons. Any Ideas? Thanks guyz!

I know that you can remove all the shortcut arrows by either modifying the registry or using TweakUI, but I was wondering if there was a way to create a single shortcut without an arrow. Thank guys.

So I finally got around to building myself a media pc for gaming and movies. I bought a cheap wireless keyboard mouse combo for like 30 bux. It sux. It's too big, has horrible range and the mouse is not even optical. So, I've been trying to find a smaller, wireless (RF) 84 key keyboard. I haven't had much luck. Does anyone know a good one? Alternatively, I could buy a $15 wired board, and get myself a ps/2 to wireless adapter. Does anyone know of such a thing, or maybe know where to find schematics to build one? That would be awesome! peace.

From Extremetech.com: Remove "Uninstallable" XP Components There are a number of Windows components-notably Windows Messenger and WordPad—that don't show up on the list of uninstallable components on the Windows Component Wizard. There's no apparent way to uninstall them. But you can, in fact, remove these components. XP has a Setup Information file that controls what appears in the Windows Component Wizard. If you edit this file, you can remove these components as you would any others. To start, use Notepad or another text editor to open the Setup Information file, sysoc.inf, which is generally found in the \WINDOWS\INF folder. Look for the line describing the program that you want to uninstall. Lines in the file have the format: program=dll.inf entry, OcEntry, program.inf entry, numeral Programs that are uninstallable all have the word hide or HIDE embedded in the string. Next, delete the word hide from the entry that refers to the component that you want to remove. For example, if you wanted to remove Pinball, you'd edit its entry by changing Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,HIDE,7 to Pinball=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,pinball.inf,,7 Save the sysoc.inf file, then run the Windows Component Wizard by choosing Add or Remove Programs from Control Panel, and clicking on Add/Remove Windows Components. The component will now show up in the wizard. Remove it as you would any other component. Keep in mind that not all of the entries in sysoc.inf are as easy to understand as Pinball and WordPad. For example, if you want to remove Windows Messenger, edit the entry for msmsgs, and if you want to remove the Accessibility Wizard, edit the entry for AccessOpt. The following table lists the "uninstallable" programs and what their entries are in the sysoc.inf file. Entry\What Entry Refers To AccessOpt\ Accessibility Wizard MultiM \ Multimedia components, including Media Player, Volume Control, and Sound Recorder CommApps \ Communications components, including Chat, Hyperterminal, and Phone Dialer AutoUpdate \ Windows Automatic Update TerminalServer\ Terminal Server Dtc \ Distributed Transaction Coordinator Com \COM+ WBEM \Windows Management Instrumentation Pinball \Pinball game MSWordPad \WordPad msmsgs\ Windows Messenger Alas, this isn't perfect. on some systems, you simply won't be able to remove Windows Messenger - Windows Messenger won't show up on the Windows Component Wizard even after you edit the sysoc.inf file. And some components such as Terminal Server will show up in the wizard if you edit the sysoc.inf file, but the wizard still won't let you uninstall them. To remove Windows Messenger, first try the methods of theeldergeek.com: Microsoft Messenger Removal One of the most sought after tweaks at the moment is the ability to remove Windows Messenger from Windows XP installations. I do want to clear up one misconception before the methods are presented. In none of the cases below is Messenger actually 'removed' from the system. You can hide it, prevent it from starting, disguise it, and fool the system into thinking it's not available - but it isn't removed. It's still on the computer and a part of the operating system. Messenger Service Popup Advertising The latest trend is using the messenger 'service' to send pop up advertising spam to unprotected computers. It's important to note that these messages have no relation to MSN or Microsoft Messenger. Messenger service is used via the 'net send' command to send messages between networked computers. Directions on how to prevent this type of spamming are located here. Official Microsoft Messenger Removal Methods How to Prevent Windows Messenger from Running on a Windows XP-Based Computer Microsoft issued Knowledge Base Article Q302089 on Jan 30, 2002 that details methods to prevent Windows Messenger 4.0, 4.5 and 4.6 from running on Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional. Messenger is installed by default in XP Home and Professional. ***On September 9, 2002 Microsoft released Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows XP. As part of an agreement with the Department of Justice, certain items termed middleware may be hidden by using the Add/Remove Windows Components section of the Add/Remove Programs section of Control Panel. Microsoft messenger is one of the middleware components affected by this change. In addition, a new section of Add/Remove Programs called Set Program Access and Defaults allows users to specify a different default messenger utility . Setting a different default messenger program will also hide Microsoft Messenger.*** Use Group Policy Editor to Alter Messenger Behavior / XP Pro Version Two methods of dealing with Messenger are available via Group Policy Editor (GPE) which can be started with the gpedit.msc command in the Run dialog. Identical settings are available for either Computer Configuration or User Configuration. If you want the policy to be computer wide, use Computer Configuration and all users will be equally affected. To set individual user policy, use the User Configuration section. Under Local Computer Policy, navigate to Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Messenger in whatever section you previously determined was appropriate. There will be two settings in the right window pane. • Do not allow Windows Messenger to be run. • Do not automatically start Windows messenger initially. Double click the appropriate setting to open the box where changes may be implemented. Close GPE and reboot. ***Disabling Messenger via GPE Slowed Outlook 2002 To A Crawl Since I don't use Messenger, I opted to disable it with GPE using the "Do not allow Windows Messenger to be run" option under Computer Configuration. Just by chance, I happened to open Outlook immediately after completing the tweak and the splash screen took forever to disappear. Normally, Outlook is very fast on this box. I knew nothing else had been changed so I suspected disabling Messenger was related to the slowdown Sure enough, the setting in Outlook for "Enable Instant Messaging in Microsoft Outlook" was checked. Outlook was trying to start Messenger and having it disallowed in GPE was causing a huge slowdown. Removing the checkmark from the "Enable Instant Messaging in Microsoft Outlook" option returned Outlook to its normally snappy response. I suspect this same scenario may play out in other applications that have the ability to access Messenger automatically. Just something to keep in mind if you experience an unexpected slowdown.*** Unofficial Windows Messenger Removal - Method I Note: If SP1 is installed this tip is pointless. Use Add/Remove Programs to remove Messenger To add Messenger to the Add/Remove Programs feature accessible via Control Panel Navigate to C:\Windows\inf (If your Windows directory is different, substitute the proper drive letter) Open sysoc.inf Find the line that reads msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7 Change it to read msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7 Windows Messenger will now appear in Add/Remove Windows Components section of Add/Remove Programs accessible through Control Panel. Unofficial Windows Messenger Removal - Method II Click [start] [Run] and in the [Open:] box type or copy/paste the following command RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove Click [OK] Unofficial Windows Messenger Removal - Method III This is my favorite method for fooling Windows XP into not being able to launch Messenger. The default location for Windows Messenger is C:\Program Files\Messenger. When XP wants to fire up Messenger it will try and access the files at the default location. To prevent Messenger from loading, just rename the Messenger folder to something new; MessengerDisabled has worked for me. If you want to use Messenger at some point down the road, simply rename the folder to Messenger and you're back in business. Or try the download from dougknox.com: Doug Knox Windows Messenger Removal Note the warnings that most of the techniques just trick XP to not run messenger, it’s still there. Remove Internet Explorer: I think this is the best you can do (from newsforge.com): How to remove IE Once you've decided to get rid of IE, you can use the following process, provided you have Internet Explorer version 6 or later installed. Ironically, the easiest way to remove Internet Explorer versions earlier than version 6.0 is to first upgrade to 6.0 -- a process best done through Windows Update. If you're using Windows 95 and want to remove IE, Microsoft has instructions here. In Windows NT 4.0, 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, and Advanced Server Limited Edition, open up your Control Panel, which is found in the Start Menu under Settings. Then double-click on Add/Remove Programs; a new window will appear with this same title. Select Add/Remove Windows Components from the left-hand icon column and then uncheck the box next to Internet Explorer. Click Next and IE will disappear from your system; click Finish to complete the process. All IE icons will be removed from your quick launch, desktop, and Start menu. Depending on which operating system you're using and how it has been updated and configured, the option for removing Internet Explorer may alternately be in the Add/Remove Installed Programs section instead of the Add/Remove Windows Components section, but the basic process remains the same. In Windows XP the process is exactly the same, except you have some further options to limit Internet Explorer. In the same Add or Remove Programs window, Windows XP has an additional option for those with Administrator rights: Set Program Access and Defaults, which is the last icon down on the left-hand icon bar. Click on it and you'll see some different profiles to choose from. Click on Custom; this will list some program defaults and access controls that you can change manually. The first group in the list is for your Web browser. Uncheck the box labeled "Enable access to this program" next to Internet Explorer. You'll notice there is a button for the system default -- you'll want to click the dot next to your new browser to make it the default if it isn't already set. Internet Explorer is, unfortunately, built into Windows in all versions after 98 and can't be fully removed. No matter what you do, IE will still be available in a limited capacity for the purpose of running Windows Update, which requires Internet Explorer to run. It will not be generally available to users, however, and since you set your default browser to whatever you installed earlier, IE will never open on its own when you click a link offline. This is the best you can do; Windows security is all about reducing risk, rather than eliminating it. If you start Windows Update, an IE window will open and you can use it for browsing sites other than Windows Update despite the fact that it's been "removed" and "disabled." This is one of the main problems with Windows -- there are always loopholes like this one that compromise your system's security. A more effective long-term answer to such security concerns might be to switch to GNU/Linux (not that I condone that).