Why Browser Settings Can't Be Changed
Your browser's settings control everything about your web browsing experience, from the font you see to the web pages you're allowed to view. There are plenty of good reasons you might want to change some of these settings, and it can be frustrating when you find that your changes are not sticking. Quite a few things can cause this and it's often unclear from where the problem is originating.
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Malicious Software
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Malware, spyware and viruses come in different forms and the severity of each can vary greatly, but they all share one goal: to hamper your ability to control and make use of your PC. Many are also inclined to lock down your browser settings and restrict your access to the Internet, making it more difficult to rid yourself of the nuisance. Browser hijacking is a common example that can potentially result in complete loss of user control.
Corporate Restriction
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If you're accessing the Internet from your place of work, it's very likely that the company you work for has applied a comprehensive security policy to its network. Locked browser settings are commonly a part of a company's security policy to prevent users from making changes that could potentially compromise the entire network. You should contact your network administrator if you have questions about your company's Internet usage policy.
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Antivirus Control
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One way that antivirus programs secure a user's PC against potential threats is to modify browser settings to increase the security level above the default level and reverse any changes made to those settings regardless of whether they were made by a malicious program or the user. Many antivirus softwares that exhibit this behavior do not make their actions clear to the user, but this feature can often be disabled manually in the software's configuration.
Account Privileges
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A Windows user account with insufficient privileges may be unable to modify many operating system features and settings including browser options. Logging in to the PC with administrator privileges will allow you to both modify the browser settings as well as review the level of access granted to your normal user account. It is particularly common for applications to fail to save settings in Windows Vista where, by default, a user must specify that she wants administrator privileges when she initializes the program.
User Error
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Most browsers offer a variety of ways to modify one particular setting. It's not uncommon for a user to make a change to a specific setting and subsequently override that change unknowingly by enabling a default set of options elsewhere in the browser's configuration. This is most likely to occur when the user attempts to make multiple changes at one time.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of mikael altemark
