How to Manually Delete URLs From the IE Address Bar Via the Registry
When you type a website address into the address bar on Internet Explorer, the URL is automatically saved in your browser history. It will also show up in the drop-down list on the Internet Explorer address bar. For safety and security, you should frequently delete these stored entries. One way to delete these entries is to clear Internet Explorer's history. If you would prefer to manually delete selected entries rather than the entire list, you can edit the Windows Registry. Learn how to manually edit the Registry and delete saved URLs that you’ve typed into Internet Explorer's address bar.
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Instructions
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Click on the Windows "Start" button in the lower left corner of your desktop. Click "Run" and type “regedit” in the pop-up window that opens. Click "OK." The Registry editor opens.
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Navigate through the registry to find the following entry:
HKEY_CURRENTUSERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerTyped URLs
You may need to click on the “+” sign in front of each section to view the entries. When you find this Registry entry, click on it to open it.
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Scroll through the individual keys. In the “Name” column, you will see a series of URLs separated by commas. In the “Data” column, you should see the corresponding Web addresses for each URL – for example, www.google.com, www.bing.com.
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Delete a URL by right-clicking on it in the “Name” column. Click "Delete." When you are finished deleting URLs, close the Registry editor. The next time you launch Internet Explorer, the URLs that you deleted will be gone from the drop-down list.
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Tips & Warnings
If you do not want to use the Registry editor to manually delete URLs, third-party applications are available to do the job. EditURLs is a free utility that you can use to edit or remove Web addresses from the Internet Explorer 6 address bar.
Resources
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