[2355738]

if you are annoyed with this pointless popup then this trick is for you!

it allows you to get rid of "Use the Web service to find the appropriate program" and "Select the program from a list" for good

With the release of Windows XP SP1, the file association Web service was introduced. When a user attempts to open a file that does not have an application associated with the file type, you see the following message:



At this point, a user can select an application which resides on their local system, or use the default selection, which is to let Windows attempt to locate the appropriate program online. Instead of letting your users choose either of those two options, we are going to show you how to completely disable this Web service.

Editing the Registry

Using regedit, navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE|SOFTWARE|Microsoft|Windows|CurrentVersion|Policies|Syste m

Create a new DWORD called NoInternetOpenWith, and set its value to 1, as shown below. (Click on image to enlarge)







Creating the Custom .adm Template

This can be deployed via Group Policy by creating an adm file using the following code.
-------------------

CLASS MACHINE

CATEGORY WindowsExplorer

POLICY "Disable File Association Web Service"

KEYNAME "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system"

EXPLAIN "Enabling this setting will stop Windows from offering users the option of using a web service to find a program to open a file that does not already have a program associated with it."

VALUENAME "NoInternetOpenWith"
VALUEON NUMERIC 1
VALUEOFF NUMERIC 0

END POLICY

END CATEGORY

-------------------

This tip is based on WARNING: XP's File Association Web Service May Be Dangerous to Your Organization's Health by Ed Roth, Windows IT Pro Magazine, November 2004, InstantDoc #44116

Additional information can be found on the Microsoft Technet site here.

Verified by: Eric Johnson
Edited by: Eric Johnson
Last Edit date: July 5th, 2007

source: http://www.gpanswers.com/faq/?id=11

I was actually about to post a question about this, but came across this in Google. so thanks to whoever posted this nice tip

[Tstright]

How is it annoying?

[2355738]

Originally Posted by Tstright

How is it annoying?

because ever since I used XP I never actually used it and just had to click through it every time.

[Stoner]

Seems to me, if the file association is unknown, you could possibly be spending more time guessing at what opened it.

I did find this MS link that applies to XP sp2 about how the Attachment Manager works and security issues:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883260
that might be of interest.

[firestormer]

I always find that the web service can never find a program to open my unkown extensions, i always have to google it

[Stiffex]

WOW thats a brilliant way to get rid of something that is totally useless and I think you would be hard pressed to actually find a living person that has actually been helped by that service.
Cant thank you enough Numbers, i`ve yearned to disable that service for a long time.