<b>Troubleshooting tip: Locking your Internet Config preferences

Last time, we mentioned that readers were reporting that installing Microsoft Office (with or without Internet Explorer) might overwrite your current Internet Config settings. One especially annoyed reader found that it wiped out all the Helper links he had created. Reader Stan offered this preventative advice:

"Lock your Internet Preferences file (created by Internet Config) before installing Office. In fact, locking a new, clean set of Internet Preferences, and keeping it locked unless you want to make changes to it, can cure a multitude of woes and is the only way to be certain that no cookies are being force-fed to your computer by Microsoft and others. As an added bonus, this procedure also cured my problems with unexpected quits from Internet Explorer. Proceed as follows:

1. Copy all settings from Internet Config.
2. Delete Internet Preferences.
3. Open Internet Config and fill in all fields. Save (to Preferences folder).
4. Open your browser offline and set all options/settings.
5. Lock Internet Preferences file.

This routine doesn't save any configured browser startup home page setting or search engine page. If you want to include these settings, go online briefly in step 4, set these options and clear off again quickly."