Member Avatar for clementine

Hi,

After cleaning up the spyware on my PC. I had 2 critical internet options tabs missing - Security and Advanced.

As such, I am unable to go to sites which requires secured connections.

Can someone help me on this. I am using Windows XP Professional which will not allow me to either repair or reinstall Internet Explorer 6.

Thanks!

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Dani AI

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Nice to see it was fixed, . For anyone who finds this thread later: the missing Security and Advanced tabs in Internet Options are almost always caused by policy/registry restrictions (sometimes left behind by spyware) or by the whole Internet Options control being disabled. The whole-dialog restriction is usually the NoBrowserOptions value under the Restrictions key; individual tabs can be hidden by DWORDs such as AdvancedTab and SecurityTab under the Internet Explorer\Control Panel policy keys. (support.microsoft.com)

Quick, safe checklist that restores those tabs (common, low-risk steps):

  • Create a System Restore point and export any registry keys that will be edited.
  • Run a full, up-to-date anti‑malware scan (malware often creates these policy entries).
  • Open regedit and check these locations for tab/policy entries:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Restrictions
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Restrictions
      If NoBrowserOptions exists, delete it. If AdvancedTab or SecurityTab exists and is 1, change it to 0 (or remove the value) and reboot. If the machine is domain‑managed, those values may be reapplied by Group Policy; the equivalent local policy path is User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Internet Explorer → Internet Control Panel. (support.microsoft.com)

A ready .reg example (imports under the current user to make the tabs visible):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel]
"AdvancedTab"=dword:00000000
"SecurityTab"=dword:00000000

Always export the existing Control Panel key before merging and reboot after changes. If inetcpl.cpl itself is missing or damaged (Internet Options still fails to open), run the Internet Explorer repair/extract steps documented by Microsoft. (ftp.zx.net.nz)

Brief context tying back to replies: ’s browser suggestion is a practical workaround for everyday browsing, while ’s pointer to older threads aligns with the registry/control‑panel restriction fixes summarized above.

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Member Avatar for oberoc

Get firefox
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
It will save you the hassle of spyware and, it doesn't have nearly as many security problems.

-Tino

Hi,

After cleaning up the spyware on my PC. I had 2 critical internet options tabs missing - Security and Advanced.

As such, I am unable to go to sites which requires secured connections.

Can someone help me on this. I am using Windows XP Professional which will not allow me to either repair or reinstall Internet Explorer 6.

Thanks!

Member Avatar for clementine

thanks guys! i finally had it resolved! :mrgreen:

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