IE 6 file protocol lockdown

  • Thread starter Thread starter alistair_henderson
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A

alistair_henderson

Morning All,

I have some web pages which use 'file:///' URL links to enable users to
view a directory on their local machine. This has been working fine
until recently, now clicking on the link does nothing at all.

I believe this is something to do with the Network Protocol Lockdown
that I have seen mentioned - I am running IE6 SP2 and Win XP SP2.
However, all the Microsoft documentation says that the information bar
should come up when you click on one of these links, allowing the user
the option to override the security - I don't get any information bar
messages.

I have played around with the Internet Options Security settings and
have been unable to change anything that makes a difference.

Can anyone confirm that it is the protocol lockdown that is causing my
problem, and if so how I might go about removing the lockdown for the
file:/// protocol? The Microsoft documentation also says that by
default the lockdown is not enabled - I haven't deliberately
(knowingly, at least!) done anything to enable it!

Thanks for any hints/tips.

Al.
 
Hi Al :-)

Try the following and see if it helps:

To remove the "FEATURE_LOCALMACHINE_LOCKDOWN" restriction for the current
user profile:

Go to Tools>Internet Options>Advanced tab, scroll down to the Security
section of the list. Select the Allow active content to run in files on My
Computer check box, and then click OK.

Also read here - Scroll down to this part:
Internet Explorer Local Machine Zone Lockdown


Hope this helps.

Jan :)
MS MVP - Windows/Internet Explorer
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.

Replies are posted only to the newsgroup for the benefit or other readers.
How to make a good newsgroup post:
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Jan,

Thanks for your hint, but I have tried this to no avail. No matter
what setting I have for 'allow active content on my computer', the
'file:///' link does nothing. Interestingly, it works if the location
reference by my file:/// link points to a location on the same box
where IIS is running - i.e. a network drive mapped to that machine.

This is no good to me, I want users to be able to effectively explore
their local machine from a location they specify (and if they have to
relax some security setting to do it, or put my website in their
trusted zone, then that's fine).
From what I can tell, IE6 SP2 has completely stopped this part of my
Click to expand...
pages from working and is not providing me with any way of re-enabling
it. I'm also a little concerned about the lack of Information bar
messages that the documentation says should be appearing...

Any more suggestions?

Thanks,
Al.
 
Hi Al,

Check your firewall settings. Zone Alarm Pro can block some types of files.

What AV do you have? There are some security settings that can block
access.

Also, if you have any 3rd party toolbars, ad or popup blockers installed,
disable them and see if that helps.

Try adding the site to the Trusted Zones, make sure it is not being blocked.

Check the Host file and see if it is in there. If so, you can edit it to
ignore it:
How to Edit HOST File:
http://www.lithiumdata.com/QandA/hosts.htm
How to use the Hosts File
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/how_to_use_hosts.html

You should also check your system for malware, which can cause this kind of
problem. Your AV, ad or spyware programs can't detect such things as
hijackers, Trojans or other types of malware, so you should go through the
programs and steps below to be sure your system if fully cleaned. There are
some types of malware that can reinstall itself repeatedly if not removed
properly.

Courtesy of Frank Saunders -

What You Should Know About Spyware
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/devioussoftware.mspx

Help with Hijackware
All MS - MVP Sites.
(http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm)
(http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm)
(http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm)
(http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/Darnit.htm)
(http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm)

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

Hope this helps.

Jan :)
MS MVP - Windows/Internet Explorer
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.

Replies are posted only to the newsgroup for the benefit or other readers.
How to make a good newsgroup post:
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Hi Jan,

Thanks again for your response. I have checked the various things you
mentioned and can find no problems. I ran Spybot S&D and it found
nothing, I ran HijackThis and it found nothing. We are running
Symantec Anti Virus, and I have disabled the Windows Firewall on my
machine.

Moving the site into the trusted sites zone doesn't make any difference
to my problem, either.

I have actually worked around the problem by writing some VBScript on
my web page to launch windows explorer in the specified directory using
the ActiveX control which is subject to security settings that I *can*
change and ask other people to change.

Thanks,
Al.
 
I believe this is something to do with the Network Protocol Lockdown
that I have seen mentioned - I am running IE6 SP2 and Win XP SP2.
However, all the Microsoft documentation says that the information bar
should come up when you click on one of these links, allowing the user
the option to override the security - I don't get any information bar
messages.
Click to expand...

Ehm, that's true for ActiveX controls also? If yes:

Download the file OLEfix.zip available here (it is a registry file
that origin from MS Support, and it has fixed the ActiveX problem
for several people, getting this problem after installing KB896688):

http://patch-info.de/IE/Downloads/OLEfix.zip

Extract it and double click the contained OLEfix.reg file. Click Yes
on the dialog box that asks you if you are sure to add the information
in OLEfix.reg to the registry.

See also the new released KB article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909889
which is referred to *now* in the revised Security Bulletin 05-052.
The REG file mentioned in there is *identical* to the OLEfix.zip file
I reffered to earlier.

HTH,
Freudi
 
Hi Al :-)

Ottmar's suggestion is a good one, give it a try.

Jan :)
MS MVP - Windows/Internet Explorer
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.
 
Freudi, Jan,

Thanks for your continued help. I ran the OLE fix reg file and it made
no difference. ActiveX controls behave as expected - i.e. if I have the
security settings set to 'Prompt' I get a dialog asking me if I want to
allow the control to run, if I set the security setting to 'Enable'
then they just run.

The more I think about it, the more I think its not the protocol
lockdown problem - I checked out the registry settings as described on
MSDN and protocol lockdown is not enabled. Its really frustrating to
keep clicking on this link and having absolutely nothing happen!! I
wouldn't mind so much if it gave me siome tangible response I could
work with, but I *hate* being ignored!! :-)

Cheers,
Al.
 
Hi Al :-)

Hmmm...just a guess, but, try the following and see if it will help:

Go to Start>Run> and register the following dll's by using
regsvr32 command. Try the first 2, then see if it resolves the problem. If
not then register the rest of the .dll's:

regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 scrrun.dll
regsvr32 msxml.dll
regsvr32 mshtml.dll
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 browseui.dll
regsvr32 msjava.dll

If that doesn't work, then check out the following article and do the
additional steps outlined there:

You Cannot Open New Internet Explorer Window or Nothing Happens After You
Click a Link
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q281679

also....

Zone: Error Message or Nothing Happens When You Click a Web Link
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;236846

Hope this helps.

Jan :)
MS MVP - Windows/Internet Explorer
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.

Replies are posted only to the newsgroup for the benefit or other readers.
How to make a good newsgroup post:
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Ramesh,

Thanks for your suggestion. I put in the registry entry that you
suggested and the link to file browsing now works! However, it remains
working no matter what value that registry entry takes, and I have even
deleted it and it still works.. Maybe there's some cacheing of that
information going on somewhere, I don't know.

Its nice to know that there is something I can do about it, but I can't
have all my customers changing their registry in that way (sounds like
a recipe for disaster to me!) so I'll stick with my workaround of using
VBScript to launch Windows explorere proper.

Thanks again everyone who helped me with this - I appreciate your
patience and suggestions!

Al.
 
Hi Al :-)
Ramesh,

Thanks for your suggestion. I put in the registry entry that you
suggested and the link to file browsing now works! However, it remains
working no matter what value that registry entry takes, and I have even
deleted it and it still works.. Maybe there's some cacheing of that
information going on somewhere, I don't know.

Its nice to know that there is something I can do about it, but I can't
have all my customers changing their registry in that way (sounds like
a recipe for disaster to me!) so I'll stick with my workaround of using
VBScript to launch Windows explorere proper.

Thanks again everyone who helped me with this - I appreciate your
patience and suggestions!
Click to expand...
Al.
Click to expand...

You're very welcome! Glad to hear you were able to resolve your problem.
At least you know there is a cure, if not on a global level.

Thank you very much for posting back and letting us know what worked for
you, and for the benefit of other readers who might have a similar problem.

Jan :)
MS MVP - Windows/Internet Explorer
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.
 
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