All icons on the desktop has Microsoft Internet Explorer icon

There is a practical joke being spread to Windows Vista users trying to fool them to associate .lnk (shortcuts) files with Microsoft Internet Explorer (MS IE). The so called joke in this is that it is very easy to do, but almost impossble to undo of you are not a skilled computer technician. This is because there is no possibility for the user to “unassociate” a file extension once it has been associated.

Symptom: All shortcut icons, both on the desktop and in the start menu are replaced by Microsoft Internet Explorer Icons. When clicking on them a Save as dialog opens. The problem is that the .lnk file extensions is being associated with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Solution: Perform this with great care as it involves manually editing the system registry. Doing a mistake here may cause your Windows to not work at all. If you feel unsure, get help from an experienced computer technician.

1. Press and hold the Windows-key on the keybord (down on the left with the Windows flag on it) and “R” simultaneusly. This brings up the “Run program” dialog box.
2. Type “regedit” and press enter.
3. Browse the system registry into
   “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.lnk”
4. Delete all subfolders under “.lnk” but do not delete the “.lnk” folder.
5. Exit regedit.
6. The shortcuts on your desktop should now work but still shows the MSIE icons. A system reboot will make the orignal icons to appear.