A hidden Internet Explorer feature
Security expert Roger Grimes writes about a feature of Internet Explorer that he and some other Microsoft MVPs just discovered
The trick is that Internet Explorer 6 and 7 beta can be fooled into running Windows desktop shortcuts instead of going to the Internet. For example, right-click your desktop and choose Create a Shortcut. Tell the shortcut to run Notepad.exe, but name the shortcut “www.aol.com.” Now type www.aol.com into IE (Internet Explorer) and see what happens. Instead of going to www.aol.com, IE starts Windows notepad.
Grimes goes on to say that although this behavior disturbs him, it probably isn’t a big security risk. Actually, it seems to me to be just one of the many quirky tricks (and security holes) that are possible because Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer are intertwined. The fact that IE is part of the operating system is the cause of many of its security problems. It also, of course, gives IE certain advantages. For example, IE will load faster than other browsers because parts of it are already in memory. It will also seem to take less RAM.
In any event, here is a practical use for a related type of behavior by IE. If you have a site that you access frequently and want a one-letter shortcut to it, here’s a way to do it. Create a shortcut on the desktop and enter the URL for the site in the box labeled “Type the location of the item”. (Details for creating shortcuts are given on this page.) Name the shortcut with the letter you want to use. From then on, entering that single letter in the IE address bar will take you to the desired Web page. Of course, so will just clicking the shortcut but sometimes a keyboard is more convenient.
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I’ve long noticed similar behavior but never paid much attention to it. I have a variety of shortcuts I type in the address bar, which are stored in the registry at this key:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl]
I tend to type in stuff in the address bar alot. I also keep shortcuts to “work in progress” on the Desktop, and I’ve noticed that IE also searches the Desktop and attempts to complete a line for you, much like a previously visited web site that is stored in the history. For example, if I have a shortcut named “Work,” IE will immediately display the name as soon as I type the letter “w.”
Another interesting variant on this theme is if you have Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express) and you type the letter “o,” “outlook:inbox” and “outlook:drafts” appear as choices. This might also work for Outlook Express, but I don’t know.