Malicious software may change Windows Internet Explorer proxy settings, and these changes can prevent you from accessing Windows Update or any Microsoft Security sites.

Certain strains of malicious software can prohibit a computer from being able to access Windows Updates or Microsoft Security Sites. For example, an attempt to access a Microsoft site, such as the following sites, results in being redirected to another page:

To have us reset the Internet Explorer proxy settings for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. If you prefer to reset the Internet Explorer proxy settings yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

Fix it for me

To fix this problem automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.




Notes

• This wizard may be in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.
• If you are not using the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

Then, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Let me fix it myself

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
To reset your Internet Explorer proxy settings yourself, follow these steps:

1. On Windows XP, click Start, or on Windows Vista or Windows 7, click
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   , and then click Run.
2. In the Run text box, copy (CTRL+C) and paste (CTRL+V) or type the following:
   reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings" /v ProxyEnable /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
3. Click OK.
4. On Windows XP, click Start , or on Windows Vista or Windows 7, click
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   , and then click Run.
5. In the Run text box, copy (CTRL+C) and paste (CTRL+V) or type the following:
   reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings" /v ProxyServer /f
6. Click OK.

Did this fix the problem?

• Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this section. If the problem is not fixed, you can contact support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus) .
• We would appreciate your feedback. To provide feedback or to report any issues with this solution, please leave a comment on the "Fix it for me (http://blogs.technet.com/fixit4me/) " blog or send us an email (mailto:fixit4me@microsoft.com?Subject=KB) .

Additional Resources

For more information about how to protect your computer from viruses or other malicious software, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.aspx)

Microsoft Security Essentails is a free program that will help protect your PC from viruses and other malicious software. For more information, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx)

For a list of approved software vendors that offer anti-virus software, visit: http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=49500 (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=49500)