errors

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 5 Dec 2001 12:40 pm

OK....Here's the deal. I switched back to IE
from Netscape. I've been told that the majority of viruses are initiated in Netscape 4. The newer version (6) takes forever to boot. My question is:

Every time I'm in mail, the error message MSHTMLED.DLL is displayed and I get booted. I know this isn't a computer forum but I'm stuck....HELP!!

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 5 Dec 2001 2:41 pm

I would say you didn't properly uninstall Netscape and it's components. You may have to reload I.E. 6 and Outlook Express again.

I don't understand your virus statement.

Internet Explorer doesn't "boot". It "loads" and should not take any longer than any other program. With your other problems I suspect the slow loading is related.

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 5 Dec 2001 3:55 pm

Thanks Jack...All of Netscape was removed thru the add & remove program. I then went to search and found other Netascape items in the files. I deleted them as well. I'll try reinstalling IE6.

I read on a site that most hackers generate their mischief on or from the Navigator 4 browser. I'm also concerned ergo that Netscape has a capacity to gather enough info to generate viruses from Netscape users.

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 5 Dec 2001 5:20 pm

RC
A prime target for hackers since the internet became mainstream in society is MICROSOFT OUTLOOK (or Outlook Express) and the Office family of products. I've used Netscape for my EMail client (along w/ Norton Antivirus for protection) for more than 5 years and have NEVER had an EMail virus infect my machine. Many recent viruses target the Outlook address book and I've RECEIVED a bunch, but never had a problem. My corporation uses Outlook and, even with a staff of folks schooled in computer security, there are still problems periodically with virus attacks that target the Microsoft products.

Also, I'm curious why you'd be suspicious of Netscape snooping your machine and you feel more comfortable with Microsoft.

BTW, it is not usually a problem to have both browsers installed on the same machine. They're both on mine. You didn't really have to uninstall Netscape at all to switch back to IE. Disk space is pretty cheap these days.

Michael Garnett · Post by **Michael Garnett** » 5 Dec 2001 7:21 pm

RC- Your computer is looking for this file which it needs to run that particular program. I doubt it's a virus, it probably had something to do with your un-install.

The only thing I can think of is to look at the error message, find the PATH of (the physical LOCATION) that program is seeking for that file, and writing that down. It should look something like this:

file C:\windows\system\mshtmled.dll is not found.

or something of the like. Remember that path, which should be what I typed up there. My computer has a file of the same name that lives in that folder. Now go to your internet browser (IE for now), and open up a search page (I prefer www.google.com , It's the best out there,) and type in the name of the file in the "Search" box. In your case, it'll be MSHTMLED.DLL. Now save that onto your hard drive in a easy-to-find location, like your desktop. Then cut and paste it into your C:\windows\system directory. If that doesn't solve your problem, I'd recommend just re-installing those programs. It might be easier, however, to forego all of those steps by putting that one little file in that directory instead of reloading the whole program.

Just like Larry said, unless you're really hurting for hard drive space (which can be easily solved by spending no more than $200 for a new HUGE hard-drive,) don't delete stuff like Netscape from your computer. If you don't USE netscape as a web-browser, there's no way for a hacker to get into your computer, if that's how he wants to get in. It's the same philosophy on your modem. If you never connect to the internet, there's really no way to get an e-mail virus. Unfortunately, you've got no way to check your e-mail either.

If you can't find that file on the internet (which you should be able to without any problem), Just get somebody to e-mail it to you. It's not a big file by any means, and should not take long to down-load from anywhere.

Garnett

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 5 Dec 2001 10:13 pm

Thanks a lot guys. I did reinstall IE6 and don't appear to be experiencing any real problems. A spare browser makes a lot of sense. Sometimes(?) I can relate to that little icon guy Bangin' his head. It'a ll worth it in the long run, especially with guys like you around.....Thanks
ps: I read somewhere on the internet that all NS4 users are susceptable to address theft and ultimate virus. Can't remeber where I read it though. Do you think it might be beneficial to delete Outlook? I never use it.[This message was edited by RC Antolina on 05 December 2001 at 10:17 PM.]

Michael Garnett · Post by **Michael Garnett** » 6 Dec 2001 1:01 am

Once again, I'd say leave it on there. It can't hurt anything if you don't use it for e-mail. (so far as I know) And even if you're hurting for drive space, uninstalling outlook won't help you that much in the long run anyway. especially if you're talking about Outlook EXPRESS. That's a little teeny dude. Outlook itself is pretty hefty sized, but it's easily ignorable. But when you start uninstalling, your computer might start deleting certain drivers (those .dll files) that make other programs work. Then you get error messages.

Garnett

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 6 Dec 2001 5:01 am

When you uninstall programs, many times you will get a message about shared files and it will ask you about deleting them. Although it "clutters" up the Windows folder, leaving them there is not a bad idea. More than one program could use that file and not deleting it could save you some headaches down the line. If you know it is a file related only to the program you are uninstalling then you can delete it.

There are third party programs, such as Cleansweep, that will check for "orphaned" files, etc and allow you to cleanup your system.

Antolina · Post by **Antolina** » 6 Dec 2001 5:37 am

Thanks again guys...You've all been a great help. Sometimes I'm living proof that a little bit of knowledge.....Anyway, evrything seems to be up and running. My speed has returned and I haven't been getting error messages.

Jeff Agnew · Post by **Jeff Agnew** » 6 Dec 2001 8:51 am

RC said:

I've been told that the majority of viruses are initiated in Netscape 4.

I don't know who told you that, but they didn't know what they were talking about. One thing has absolutely nothing to do with the other. As others pointed out, most viruses spread through e-mail. MS' LookOut, er, Outlook and OE are prime candidates.

Your browser can be used by a malicious web site to deliver a trojan, but that's a function of your security settings and has nothing to do with which one you use.

I read somewhere on the internet that all NS4 users are susceptable to address theft and ultimate virus.

The second part is false, the first part partially true. NS has a preference setting to send your e-mail address as the password for logging on to an anonymous FTP server. (That's an Internet convention, BTW.) It's a privacy issue, not a security hole. Also, NS4 and later versions ship with this feature turned off by default.

In short, use the browser you like best. Try several; most web developers have many different copies on a single machine. (Try Opera, BTW. You'll be surprised how much faster it is than NS or IE.)

If you're concerned about security, learn how to use and fine tune the security zones in your Internet Options control panel. They're probably set at default values, right? Disable Install on Demand, ActiveX, cross-domain data access, VB, IFRAMEs, sub-frame navigation, and all the other well-known security holes.