Outlook 2003 - clicking on all email hyperlinks causes problem

[Ed B]

When I click on any hyperlink in any email in my friend's inbox, it
automatically begins the procedure to install "Spam Inspector for Outlook
Express". We don't know where this came from & want to make it disappear.
He's using Outlook 2003 (not express), Xp pro SP2, IE6.0 with all critical
windows updates & Office updates installed. The PC is only 6 months old with
1GB of memory & plenty of hd space.

I'd like to get rid of this nuisance. I've tried numerous things to remedy
this, all to no avail. They include full/deep scans with Webroot Spysweeper,
Adaware, Microsoft Windows Defender, the online Microsoft LiveOneCare
totalcare scan, Norton windoctor from disk & Avast antivirus...No luck..
System restore didn't work on the 3 dates I tried. I even allowed the Spam
Inspector to install & then removed it... No luck..I did a Outlook 2003
detect & repair...An uninstall & reinstall of Outlook.....I uninstalled
Avast (because it had an Outlook add-on that I thought may have been bad) &
installed System Mechanic & used their system & registry repair tools & anti
virus(Kaspersky)...Still no luck....Everything else on the pc works fine
(except maybe System Restore). Hyperlinks from my yahoo email accounts work
fine.

Does anybody have any suggestions? Since it's not recognized as a virus or
spyware, I suspect it's a corrupt dll or registry key, but I don't know how
to fix it. Thanks

 

[Calvin Luttrell from Projecthunder]

Ed,

Bummer, did you check for it as an add-on to outlook? Try disabling the
add-ins to see which one it is. Also it may be that you can uninstall it for
the control panel add and remove programs.


-Calvin Luttrell

e-Commerce unveiled The e-book
http://www.projectthunder.com
http://blog.projectthunder.com

 

[Ed B]

Thanks for your input Calvin.
I had gone to the Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs & removed any
unneeded or suspicious software.
As for checking for add-ons, I already (inside Outlook) went to
Tools.Options>Other>Advanced Options & checked both the Add-In Manager & Com
Add-ins
but found nothing unusual.
However, I did not try Internet Explorer's Internet Options>Programs>
Manage Add-Ons. I'll try that one tomorrow or Wednesday. It's my friend's pc
who lives
15 miles away.
Thanks again,
Ed

 

[Ed B]

After much research, I finally found the solution to my problem.. Below is a
cut & paste from Microsoft which provided the answer. Their problem
description is different from mine, but the resolution worked. Here it is in
case anyone else runs into a similar problem:
SYMPTOMS
When you click a hyperlink in Microsoft Outlook, you may receive the
following error message:
This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this
computer. Please contact your system administrator.

CAUSE
After you upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, the following registry
key is either missing or corrupt:

HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Classes\htmlfile\shell \open\command

Back to the top

RESOLUTION
You may be able to resolve the issue by resetting Web settings in Internet
Explorer. If that does not resolve the issue, import the registry key from
another computer.

Back to the top

Reset Web settings
1.
Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. Click the Programs tab, and then click the Reset Web Settings button.
4. Under Internet programs, verify that the correct e-mail program is
selected.
5. Click to select the Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is
the default browser check box.
6. Click Apply, and then click OK.

Note You may receive the following message when Internet Explorer starts:
Internet Explorer is not currently your default browser. Would you like to
make it your default browser?
If you receive the message, click Yes.

Thanks to Calvin & other newsgroup helpers,
Ed B
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