How do I remove DSO Exploit?

In using Spybot to check my computer it finds "DSO Exploit". I click on Fix and it says it fixes it but then when I rerun Spybot it is still there. How do I get rid of it and is it a problem to leave it on my computer?

I purchased Spyware Doctor and it found several more problems but not "DSO Exploit".

This question was answered on December 1, 2004. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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What is DSO Exploit?

If you use Spybot Search and Destroy or another spyware removal tool, it may find an item called DSO Exploit This exploit is a bug in Internet Explorer that under certain circumstances would allow untrusted software to run on the computer In other words, its a hole in Internet Explorer that hackers could use to gain access to your system.

However, if you are running the latest version of Internet Explorer and have all your Windows Updates installed, the bug has been patched and is not a threat to your computer system Even though Spybot may still show it as a threat.

How do you Remove DSO Exploit?

If you have the latest Internet Explorer version and all your Windows Updates, you can safely ignore the DSO Exploit as a potential problem when Spybot Search and Destroy or other spyware removal tools discover it However if you would rather fix the exploit so it does not show up again, follow these steps to edit your Windows Registry Please be careful however, incorrect changes to the Windows Registry can cause Windows to not boot.

1) Make a note of the location of the exploit shown in Spybot, something similar to:

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-1614895754-73586283-725345543-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\0\1004!=W=3

2) Click on Start, Run, and type REGEDIT and Press Enter to open the Windows Registry Editor

3) Find the location of the exploit above in the registry by clicking on the pluses( ) next to each title

4) After opening the Zones section and clicking on '0' look to the right window, under 'name' is the key '1004' and the type is REG_SZ simply right click and delete this REG_SZ value.Then right click and create new>DWORD Value, name it 1004, then right click on that and goto modify, give it the Hex Value of 3, Click ok.

If there is only a DWORD Value for the key (in this case 1004), then double click on the key and change the HEX value to 3 and click Ok.

5) Close the Registry Editor and Reboot your computer

6) The DSO Exploit should now be removed and it should no longer appear in the Spybot Search and Destroy log as a problem

About the author

Posted by Henry of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on December 1, 2004

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