Restore shortcut file association: Desktop shortcuts not working

 Well if you are one of those who are the facing the problem that your Desktop shortcuts have suddenly become unusable and when you try to open them some other application is launched than what you expect then this article is for you.

Symptom:

1. Shortcuts on my Desktop in Windows are either not having any icon or have the icon of some common application.
2. When I try to launch any shortcut, say, firefox, application 'x' tries to open the file or windows pops up the open with dialog box.

Cause:

Your registry entry for .lnk filetype association has become corrupt by either your own mistake or by the action of some malware.

Solution:

The solution to the above mentioned problem is quite easy.
First of all calm down.
Your personal data is safe.
You need NOT format your computer.

Now the technical specifications as to what must be done in order to restore the ".lnk" filetype association in your Windows.

1. Press the "Window key + R"
2. Now type in the 'Run' dialog box: "regedit" (without quotes or this bracketed text)
3. In the new window that opens up, go to FILE ---> IMPORT menu
4. Hope fully you have already downloaded the .zip file provided below? Unzip it to find the lnk.reg file.
5. Back in step 3, when you select import, it asks for path of file, give the path of the "lnk.reg" file you obtained in step 4.
6. Accept and press oks  for all changes or questions windows asks.
7. Now the tedious part: Goto the following path within "regedit" from the left side pane:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.lnk

In the left pane itself, under the .lnk, see if there is a sub entry called "UserChoice". If there is such an entry, delete it outrightly.

8. Now you are done, restart your computer.
9. In 99% cases this has solved the problem. Hopefully it works for you as well. In case it doesn't place a comment I will definitely respond. 

 DOWN LOAD THE ZIP FILE FROM THE FOLLOWING LINK:

Click here to download the registry file...

Restoring Hijacked FIREFOX.... explained...

Many a times you might faced the problem when your firefox browser has been sort of hijacked by some naive search engine toolbar that just wouldn't let go. You might have wondered what can be done in such a case.

Toady I am going to discuss how can you reconfigure your browser homepage and also change some other settings that are important.

First of all you have to understand that Mozilla Firefox is open source which means you can actually change the original source code and also play with the settings.

Coming up: How to actually change the browser settings Firefox.

This is how you reach the settings of Mozilla Firefox:

 In the address bar type in:

about:config

Image: Firefox settings' page

Once you reach this page, you can easily see the warning:

Changing these advanced settings harmful to the stability, security and performance of this application. You should only continue if you are sure of what you are doing.

Click on the button "I'll be careful, I promise" and go on to the next page.

On the next page you will see all the variables that are in use by the browser and their values. Be extra careful not to modify any of the values accidently or else you might have to reinstall the application.

Image: The browser environment variables

 Now very carefully in the "filter bar" enter the words

                                          keyword.url 

You will see the following result, if I am not wrong:

Image: result of typing in "keyword.url"

 I have drawn the context menu by right clicking on the variable. In my case the browser is not under the attack from any malicious tool so the "value" is blank and the "reset" option is not available. In your case both will have opposite scenario. Simply select reset.

Voila ! You are a step closer to free your browser from the clutches of the tool. Now the next step.
Type in :

                                                 search 

in the filter bar. You will see new set of results appearing. You will have to make sure that 
1. browser.search.defaultenginename is Google
2. browser.search.defaulturl is blank
3. browser.search.order.x is not any unwanted site or company(where x = 1,2,3...)
4. browser.search.useDBForOrder should be blank (if this attribute is listed in your results)
5. As an example, once I was hijacked by this
 extensions.infoaxetoolbar.infoaxetoolbar.ChangedHomePageAndSearchEngine 
    I have made it null since then.

This should cure your wounds in most cases, but, if still it does not, go on and explore more options as follows:

Image: result of typing in "home"

 browser.startup.homepage should be kept according to your wishes. In my case I have kept the url of my blog:

www.technobane.blogspot.in

as my homepage. However this something you can always change by going to the following:

Image: Go to "Option" menu in the browser

 The exact look of this menu will differ according to your browser version and Windows version. Then :

Image: The options window

 Here in this window, enter the desired value in the field "Home Page".

This done, you are almost there.

Coming up: How to complete the process of recovering your browser from a hijack...!!! 

Image: Now go to the add-ons settings

 On the add-ons page, you will have to make sure of the following:

Image:Addon Manager page

 First of all click on the left side panel on "Extensions". Then make sure that the incorrigible fellow has not installed any unwanted extension into your browser. If it has, then simply click on "Remove" button available along with it.


Now, now! Here we are. Your browser is now purged of that unwanted fella that crept onto your homepage every time you launched the browser or opened a new tab. Enjoy and keep reading my blogs...

 Enjoy n keep reading !!!

  

 Download: Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, Sea-Monkey,  RockMelt, Avant Browser,