Windows Registry Hacks/Internet Explorer

This chapter deals with tweaks related to visual enhancement, performance and miscellaneous factors related to Internet Explorer

Custom Information pages

There are 10 information pages in total which include "navigation failure", "web page unavailable", "about:tabs" etc. The pages along with their default paths are:

Value	Default Data ( in IE 6)	Default Data ( in IE 7)
blank	res://mshtml.dll/blank.htm	res://mshtml.dll/blank.htm
NavigationFailure	res://shdoclc.dll/navcancl.htm	res://ieframe.dll/navcancl.htm
DesktopItemNavigationFailure	res://shdoclc.dll/navcancl.htm	res://ieframe.dll/navcancl.htm
NavigationCanceled	res://shdoclc.dll/navcancl.htm	res://ieframe.dll/navcancl.htm
OfflineInformation	res://shdoclc.dll/offcancl.htm	res://ieframe.dll/offcancl.htm
PostNotCached	res://mshtml.dll/repost.htm	res://ieframe.dll/repost.htm
NoAdd-ons	value not available	res://ieframe.dll/noaddon.htm
NoAdd-onsInfo	value not available	res://ieframe.dll/noaddoninfo.htm
SecurityRisk	value not available	res://ieframe.dll/securityatrisk.htm
Tabs	value not available	res://ieframe.dll/tabswelcome.htm

Note: "res://" in above paths stands for "resource".

The Key and data type are:

System Key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\AboutURLs
Data type : REG_SZ

Sample registry to change "Navigation Failure" page

Key	HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\AboutURLs
Value Name	NavigationFailure
Data Type	REG_SZ
Data	path to custom html page

TIP: * In case of a browser hijack, the values will be changed to reflect a particular URL. Putting back the default values can help in counter measures.

• All the default pages can bee seen by copy-pasting the path to Run dialog box (e.g. pasting "res://shdoclc.dll/offcancl.htm" in Run dialog box will open up the "web page unavailable offline" page.
• Or they can be seen by typing in the Run Dialog box OR IE address bar the following:
  • about:<value>
    • replacing <value> with one of the values from table above as below
  • about:OfflineInformation
  • about:Tabs

Background bitmap for explorer toolbars

Description: Internet explorer can be customized to use a bitmap image as a background for toolbars.

Note: Only images with bmp as extension will work.

Key	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar
Value Name	BackBitmapShell < This is the name of your new "String Value"
Data Type	String Value (Right click on right-hand pane and select "New > String Value")
Data	Enter the direct path to your bitmap image (e.g. C:\WINDOWS\Resources\"New Folder Name")

Custom loading icon and animation

Description: Internet Explorer uses static and dynamic icons which can be seen at top-right. 4 Values are needed for customization which are:

Value	Description
BigBitmap	A 38x38 pixel bitmap image which is in use when no data transfer takes place.
SmallBitmap	A 22x22 pixel bitmap which is in use when no data transfer takes place.
BrandBitmap	A 38x38 pixel GIF image which is in use when data transfer takes place.
SmBrandBitmap	A 22x22 pixel GIF image which is in use when data transfer takes place.

Registry to use custom "BigBitmap". Other Values also have same properties except for "value"

Key	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar
Value Name	BigBitmap
Data Type	REG_SZ
Data	path to 38x38 bitmap image

Custom title bar text

Description: The title-bar in Internet Explorer can be customized to show personalized text.

Registry to change title bar text to "Wikibooks"

Key	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Value Name	Window Title
Data Type	REG_SZ
Data	Wikibooks

Change hyperlink colors

Description: Hyperlink and visited hyperlink colors are shown in blue (0,0,255) and purple (128,0,128) respectively. Changing the hover text color requires the setting to be enabled first. It can be done by using the following registry:

Key	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Settings
Value Name	Use Anchor Hover Color
Data Type	REG_SZ
Data	Yes

The format for colors is

 RRR,GGG,BBB (in decimal)

Registry for changing the hyperlink color to green.

Key	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Settings
Value Name	Anchor Color
Data Type	REG_SZ
Data	0,255,0

Registry for changing visited hyperlink color to red.

Key	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Settings
Value Name	Anchor Color Visited
Data Type	REG_SZ
Data	255,0,0

Registry for changing hover color to blue.

Key	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Settings
Value Name	Anchor Color Hover
Data Type	REG_SZ
Data	0,0,255