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M$ User
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Hello, I posted the following problem about registry pollution, but
haven't gotten much response. Hoping someone here can comment. In addition to the questions at the end, I think I recall seeing a method of modifying exported registry files to delete and/or create keys, to be carried out when the file is imported. I can't seem to find anything about this on the microsoft website. Thanks for any comments. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Cleaning up Burn4free droppings Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:26:59 -0500 From: M$ User <(E-Mail Removed)> Newsgroups: microsoft.public.win2000.registry I'm using a VPN that scans my computer for risky things before connecting. It found my computer to be clean if run from an administrator account. But when run as a nonadmin user, it prevents connection because it found: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Burn4Free According to http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/mrg...loads/1848445/ Burn4free adds many things related to NavHelper/NavExcel, which many people don't like. Apparently, neither does my VPN client. However, Burn4free has been removed long ago, so many of the things in the above website don't appear on my computer. I have no NavHelper/NavExcel on my Add/Remove_Programs (launched as administrator). Neither of the 2 strings show up in the registry, explored as administrator. And there are no file names or directories on my hard drive containing the string "burn4free". I have always been warned to leave registry mucking to the wizards. But I could at least search for occurances of the string "burn4free", which I did using regedit from an administrator account: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.b4f HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Burn4Free.exe HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Burn4Free.exe\shell HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Burn4Free project HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Burn4Free project\DefaultIcon HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Burn4Free project\shell\open\command HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar 1 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.b4f 2 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\Burn4Free.exe 3 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\Burn4Free.exe\shell 4 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project 5 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\DefaultIcon 6 7 8 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\shell\open\command 9 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Management\ARPCache\Burn4Free Toolbar 10 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Burn4Free 11 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D 12 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication 13 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Explorer Bars\{C4EE31F3-4768-11D2-BE5C-00A0C9A83DA1}\FilesNamedMRU 14 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD 15 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar 16 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication 17 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD 18 HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar I also exported the entire registry as a text file (REGEDIT4 file) to doublecheck the keys containing "burn4free". The key names are found are: 1 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.b4f] 2 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\Burn4Free.exe] 3 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\Burn4Free.exe\shell] 4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project] 5 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\DefaultIcon] 6 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\shell] 7 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\shell\open] 8 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\shell\open\command] 9 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Management\ARPCache\Burn4Free Toolbar] 10 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Burn4Free] 11 12 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication] 13 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Explorer Bars\{C4EE31F3-4768-11D2-BE5C-00A0C9A83DA1}\FilesNamedMRU] 14 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD] 15 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar] 16 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication] 17 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD] 18 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar] These do corroborate with those found within regedit, and corresponding keys between the 2 lists are given the same number above. Some features to note are: * The exported file only contains the keys rooted in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS. They do not contain the keys rooted in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and HKEY_CURRENT_USER. * Keys 6 & 7 do not have corresponding hits in the search from within regedit because the search facility only matches the search string to the /last/ component of the "path" (or to a key containing a value which contains "burn4free". * Key 11 doesn't have an entry in the exported REGEDIT4 file presumably because the export only considers keys that contains values. There really is no point in exporting a key that contains just another key, since the 2nd key will have its own entry in the exported file (if it contains values). * I presume that offending HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Burn4Free shows up as item 10, and that strange code representing the user is the account for which the problem experienced. I would like to erase all the keys in the (first) longer list, and fear causes me to want to back up the registry before doing so, which yields a 21MB REGEDIT4 file when done as administrator. 1. Is it safe to go and remove the keys? 2. What is the most efficient (maybe scripted) way to remove the keys? I'm more familiar with solaris (at a user level) and handier with a text file than clicking at a GUI. 3. Is this the most advisable solution? 4. It seems more thorough to remove the keys as administrator. Is this better than doing so as the user experiencing the problem? Should I remove the keys as both administrator and the nonadmin user? 5. Is saving a REGEDIT4 file an adequate safety net, or is it better to save it in its default binary format? 6. Should I take a snapshot of the registry from both accounts? That would create about 42MB of safety net. 7. Is there an efficient way to specify the exacty keys to export in one shot? This would be preferable to saving 21MB of registry per export. 8. What are some of the barriers to recovery if things go wrong? Thanks for any thoughts on this. |
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Pegasus \(MVP\)
Guest
Posts: n/a
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< snip >
> 1. Is it safe to go and remove the keys? > > 2. What is the most efficient (maybe scripted) way to remove the keys? > I'm more familiar with solaris (at a user level) and handier > with a text file than clicking at a GUI. > > 3. Is this the most advisable solution? > > 4. It seems more thorough to remove the keys as administrator. Is > this better than doing so as the user experiencing the problem? > Should I remove the keys as both administrator and the nonadmin > user? > > 5. Is saving a REGEDIT4 file an adequate safety net, or is it > better to save it in its default binary format? > > 6. Should I take a snapshot of the registry from both accounts? > That would create about 42MB of safety net. > > 7. Is there an efficient way to specify the exacty keys to export > in one shot? This would be preferable to saving 21MB of > registry per export. > > 8. What are some of the barriers to recovery if things go wrong? > > Thanks for any thoughts on this. I'm not familiar with Burn4Free but I suggest you adopt the KISS principle like so: 1. Create an image file of your system. You can do it with Acronis DriveImage 7 - it's now free: http://www.acronis.com/mag/DVhbcjdI 2. Create an Acronis boot CD. 3. Restore this image to a blank disk and test it. 4. Edit your registry. 5. If something goes wrong, restore your OS from the image you created in Step 1. A simpler way goes like this: 1. Back up your registry, using a tool such as regback.exe. You can download it from the Microsoft site. 2. Edit your registry. 3. If something goes wrong, restore the registry files. You can perform Step 3 either by booting the machine with a Bart PE boot CD or by connecting your disk as a slave disk to some other Win2000/XP PC. The first method is completely safe. The second method is almost as safe. |
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Frank Booth Snr
Guest
Posts: n/a
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M$ User wrote:
> Hello, I posted the following problem about registry pollution, but > haven't gotten much response. Hoping someone here can comment. In > addition to the questions at the end, I think I recall seeing a > method of modifying exported registry files to delete and/or create > keys, to be carried out when the file is imported. I can't seem to > find anything about this on the microsoft website. Thanks for any > comments. > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Cleaning up Burn4free droppings > Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:26:59 -0500 > From: M$ User <(E-Mail Removed)> > Newsgroups: microsoft.public.win2000.registry > > I'm using a VPN that scans my computer for risky things before > connecting. It found my computer to be clean if run from an > administrator account. But when run as a nonadmin user, it prevents > connection because it found: > > HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Burn4Free > > According to > http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/mrg...loads/1848445/ > Burn4free adds many things related to NavHelper/NavExcel, which many > people don't like. Apparently, neither does my VPN client. However, > Burn4free has been removed long ago, so many of the things in the > above website don't appear on my computer. I have no > NavHelper/NavExcel on my Add/Remove_Programs (launched as > administrator). Neither of the 2 strings show up in the registry, > explored as administrator. And there are no file names or directories > on my hard drive containing the string "burn4free". > > I have always been warned to leave registry mucking to the wizards. > But I could at least search for occurances of the string "burn4free", > which I did using regedit from an administrator account: > > HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.b4f > HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Burn4Free.exe > HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Burn4Free.exe\shell > HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Burn4Free project > HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Burn4Free project\DefaultIcon > HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Burn4Free project\shell\open\command > > HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication > > HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD > > HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar > > 1 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.b4f > 2 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\Burn4Free.exe > 3 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\Burn4Free.exe\shell > 4 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project > 5 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\DefaultIcon > 6 > 7 > 8 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free > project\shell\open\command > 9 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App > Management\ARPCache\Burn4Free Toolbar > > 10 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Burn4Free > 11 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D > 12 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication > 13 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Internet > Explorer\Explorer Bars\{C4EE31F3-4768-11D2-BE5C-00A0C9A83DA1}\FilesNamedMRU > 14 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD > 15 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar > > 16 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication > 17 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD > 18 > HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar > > I also exported the entire registry as a text file (REGEDIT4 file) to > doublecheck the keys containing "burn4free". The key names are found > are: > > 1 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.b4f] > 2 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\Burn4Free.exe] > 3 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\Burn4Free.exe\shell] > 4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project] > 5 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\DefaultIcon] > 6 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\shell] > 7 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free project\shell\open] > 8 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Burn4Free > project\shell\open\command] > 9 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App > Management\ARPCache\Burn4Free Toolbar] > > 10 > [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Burn4Free] > 11 > 12 > [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication] > 13 > [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Internet > Explorer\Explorer Bars\{C4EE31F3-4768-11D2-BE5C-00A0C9A83DA1}\FilesNamedMRU] > 14 > [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD] > 15 > [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-1000\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar] > > 16 > [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication] > 17 > [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free CD and DVD] > 18 > [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-527237240-920026266-1343024091-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder\Start > Menu\Programs\Burn4Free Toolbar] > > These do corroborate with those found within regedit, and > corresponding keys between the 2 lists are given the same number > above. Some features to note are: > > * The exported file only contains the keys rooted in > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and HKEY_USERS. They do not contain the keys > rooted in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and HKEY_CURRENT_USER. > > * Keys 6 & 7 do not have corresponding hits in the search from > within regedit because the search facility only matches the > search string to the /last/ component of the "path" (or to a key > containing a value which contains "burn4free". > > * Key 11 doesn't have an entry in the exported REGEDIT4 file > presumably because the export only considers keys that contains > values. There really is no point in exporting a key that > contains just another key, since the 2nd key will have its own > entry in the exported file (if it contains values). > > * I presume that offending HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Burn4Free > shows up as item 10, and that strange code representing the user > is the account for which the problem experienced. > > I would like to erase all the keys in the (first) longer list, and > fear causes me to want to back up the registry before doing so, which > yields a 21MB REGEDIT4 file when done as administrator. > > 1. Is it safe to go and remove the keys? > > 2. What is the most efficient (maybe scripted) way to remove the keys? > I'm more familiar with solaris (at a user level) and handier > with a text file than clicking at a GUI. > > 3. Is this the most advisable solution? > > 4. It seems more thorough to remove the keys as administrator. Is > this better than doing so as the user experiencing the problem? > Should I remove the keys as both administrator and the nonadmin > user? > > 5. Is saving a REGEDIT4 file an adequate safety net, or is it > better to save it in its default binary format? > > 6. Should I take a snapshot of the registry from both accounts? > That would create about 42MB of safety net. > > 7. Is there an efficient way to specify the exacty keys to export > in one shot? This would be preferable to saving 21MB of > registry per export. > > 8. What are some of the barriers to recovery if things go wrong? > > Thanks for any thoughts on this. > Backup your system state first using NTBackup. It's in the system32 folder, and you should put this application onto the Start menu. Ideally you should backup to a USB flashdrive at least 512MB in size or another HDD. You cannot NTBackup directly to CDr, but only save to HDD then copy over to CDr, but you can restore direcly from CDr. Then open Regedit, position the cursor at the top on 'my computer', open edit/find, them type in 'burn4free' in the 'find what' box, and press 'ok'. Each time the registry finds an instance of burn4free delete it, if necessary the whole key unless other applications are listed under that key, in which case just delete the relevant bit. Keep pressing F3 until no more instances of 'burn4free' are found. Then reboot the PC. |
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