Information bar and Trusted Sites problems

Hi All,

I have Windows XP home w/SP2 currently running. I am having the biggest problem with the information bar. It seems to pop up on every single site I vist, including perfectly harmless sites like Yahoo and Google.

I've tried playing around with the Internet Options, but nothing seems to work. At this point, I have restored all of the defaults, but still nothing. One strange thing I notice is that in the Internet Options-->Security the Trusted Sites option is grayed out. I cannot add anything there, and I wonder if this is the root of the problem.

I also have a second username set up for my fiance and her desktop seems to work fine. I've tried copying her settings and the only discrepancy I can see is the trusted sites option.

Does anyone know how to fix this? The darn information bar makes web surfing extremely difficult.

Thank you!

Mscape

 

Mscape--Is this the Information Bar you are talking about?
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=843017&product=windowsxpsp2
Note that the info on being able to change ActiveX settings by clicking on the IB is incorrect. You have to go into IE Tools|Internet Options|Security tab|Custom Level to make changes.
An image of the Information Bar is shown here (note red arrow in first graphic)
http://www.kingsley-hughes.com/pc-zone/security/xp_sp2_ib.asp

What is the Information Bar message?

The problem with Trusted Sites may or not be related.
1) You may have spyware on your PC.
2) You may need to repair IE.
To do 1) follow the suggestions here
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=37074
I assume you have an Antivirus program already installed, that the virus definitions are up to date, and that the program is set to start at boot.
To do 2) Start|Run|type sfc /scannow|OK. Have your WinXP CD ready since you may be asked to insert.
It is also possible that some antispyware program on your PC has a setting to not permit changes to the Trusted Sites. I regret that I cannot tell you the ones that might do that. (Do you have SpybotS&D installed?) Perhaps someone else can comment.
A long shot would be to have a look at this key in the Registry
HKCurrentUser\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Internet Settings|Lockdown_Zones\2 . Is the very last number for CurrentLevel in the right pane 0 or 1? If 1, I suspect that is your problem. It should be 0. But I hesitate to suggest you make the change until someone else has commented.
It is also possible that you have a setting in Policies in your Registry. Again someone else may be able to comment.

 

Wow Welshjim, thank you for all the advice.

I looked at the pages provided and the information outlined on Microsoft's site is what I'm seeing. I also compared my Info bar to that of the fake's and mine is definitely real. I have the yellow shield and corresponding message "To help protect your security, your web browser has restricted this file from showing active content that could access your computer. Click here for options..." Of course, when I click the bar to allow active content, it just shows up again later on.

I also tried running sfc/scannow, but I get an error "Windows cannot find sfc/scannow. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again." Could this be a symptom of the problem?

Otherwise, I am currently running McAfee's AV, which starts on boot-up and is currently up to date. I checked all the settings and the only one that seemed related was their SCriptStopper. I turned that off, but the problem persists. I also have Microsoft's Spy-ware software as well as Ad-aware and I ran full scans of everything before posting.

Anything else I might try?

Thank you!

 

Mscape--Concerning the Information Bar, did you look into IE Tools|Internet Options|Security tab|Custom Level to change "Run ActiveX controls and plug ins" to Enable?
Concerning the Trusted Sites problem, did you consider whether any other program (like a spyware detector--especially SpybotS&D) might have a setting to block changes (and therefore cause Trusted Sites to be grayed out)? And even if you do not make any changes at this point, just have a look at that key in the Registry to see whether the Lockdown_Zone\2 Current Level setting reads 1 or 0. (0x00000000(0) vs 0x00000000(1) )
You will see this at the bottom of the right panel when you click on the folder labeled 2 under Lockdown_Zone in the left panel.
P.S. When you say the "Trusted Sites option is grayed out ", did you click on the Trusted Sites icon before trying to click the "Sites" button?

 

Once again, thank you for your help.

I checked the registry and the last number is in fact 0.

I also ran the sfc /scannow and nothing seemed to be amiss.

I have changed all of the seemingly pertinent settings in my IE Settings folder, but none of them seem to make a difference.

And to answer your question, yes, I tried clicking on the Trusted Sites Icon, but the sites bar is still grayed out.

The only thing I didn't check was whether or not my spyware detectors have stopped me from making changes. I'm not sure how to easily check that.

But, the real problem is, even if I can add sites to the Trsuted Sites list, the Information Bar still pops up every two seconds. And, the biggest mystery is why it happens on my username and not my fiance's. She has not changed any of her settings, so I restored all my defaults and still nothing works.

Thank you.

 

Mscape--Here is the usual procedure for turning off the Information Bar. As you can see it is not recommended and there are different procedures for each message
http://support.dell.com/support/top...document?dn=1090296&c=us&l=en&s=gen&cs=#step5
Unfortunately I think I have suggested some of this before. And I am mystified why you get an IB about ActiveX if you have changed the settings in Internet Options|Security tab|Custom Level to permit ActiveX controls to run.

I think that is normal. If, indeed, you can make any change to ActiveX by clicking on the IB, it is just to view that single page.
I gather you feel you have done all you should to test for spyware.
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=37074
The only other thing I could suggest is IE Tools|Internet Options|General tab|Settings|View Objects|right click on each item in the Downloaded Program Files window|Properties|look at the Status and Code Base lines|Delete all the items that do not come from a source you recognize or which indicate the file is "Corrupt" . You are eventually going to have to replace them, but you will be asked to do so when you need them.
Concerning the grayed out Trusted Sites, I regret that I cannot offer any more ideas, other than to suggest you use a System Restore to a date before the problem started. You will have reinstall any programs, settings, Windows Updates, etc. since that date.
I still hope some one will come up with an idea.

 

Mscape--Another place to look in the Registry.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315933
This article talks about adding a "My Computer" Zone to the Sites shown as active on the Security tab. As you can see "Flags " has to be set to 47. (So the issue could be Flags rather than CurrentLevel) I would think much of the same logic would apply to restoring the Trusted Sites icon. But I do not know what the correct number is. My Trusted Sites (Zone 2 in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones ) Flags setting is 0x00000043(67)
And in the Lockdown_Zones key I mentioned earlier, the Flags value for Trusted Sites (#2) is set at 0x00000021(33)
I doubt you should try this on your own unless you are very comfortable in the Registry. But you might have a look to see what values you have for Flags for Zone 2 in both places.
Still hoping someone will help.

P.S. Going back to that Information Bar message you get. Are you sure the word is "showing" rather than "using" or "installing" ActiveX?