This tip was printed from the MalekTips Computer and Technology Help and Tips website at http://malektips.com.

Internet Explorer 6 Miscellaneous - Lost http prefix in URLs

SUMMARY: Internet Explorer not adding http:// to your URLs? This may help.

After dealing with some viruses and spyware, you may have come across a situation in Internet Explorer 6 where the default prefix "http://" is missing. For example, if you type in www.malektips.com into Internet Explorer, it will never add the "http://" in front, making the correct URL http://www.malektips.com

If this has happened, you need to create a file called 'prefix.reg' that can help restore needed settings.

Copy the below text between the --- signs into a file called 'prefix.reg' (use Notepad or your favorite text editor). Save it to your desktop for easy access.

Note that the [HKEY] lines, the lines starting with brackets, are split in two for viewing on this page; combine the two lines between brackets into one.

Once you have successfully created and saved the file 'prefix.reg', double-click the file and it should solve your problem. Since this is a registry editing tip, all standard disclaimers apply.

---
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\URL\DefaultPrefix]
@="http://"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\URL\Prefixes]
"ftp"="ftp://"
"gopher"="gopher://"
"home"="http://"
"mosaic"="http://"
"www"="http://"
---