Nirsoft Utilities

[Dave-UK]

I'm a big fan of Nir Sofer's Windows software and have just discovered
there is now a launcher for most of his programs.
http://launcher.nirsoft.net/
If you like poking around in Win7 then you may find this tool useful.
I've learnt a lot over the years from his software and help files.

There is a small annoyance about 'blocked' files from the internet.
Because Win7 tags anything downloaded from the internet as unsafe
the compiled help files (.chm) don't seem to run properly from within
the program.
When you run NirLauncher and click on the description of a utility it
should open the corresponding help file but it often doesn't work properly.
You end up with a 'Navigation to the Webpage was cancelled' message.

To fix that and remove the Security Warning nag message you can:
Clear the box 'Always ask before opening this file'
or
Right-click the file, Properties and 'Unblock'
or
Delete the Alternate Data Stream embedded in the file

So to fix everything in one go:
Start NirLauncher and click on the Disk Utilities tab.
Start Alternate Stream View and browse to the Nirsoft folder you downloaded.
Make sure Scan Subfolders are selected and do a Scan.
Click on Edit and select all.
Click on the red X to remove the alternate data Zone.Identifier:$DATA) from all files.

 

[LouB]

I'm a big fan of Nir Sofer's Windows software and have just discovered
there is now a launcher for most of his programs.
http://launcher.nirsoft.net/
If you like poking around in Win7 then you may find this tool useful.
I've learnt a lot over the years from his software and help files.

There is a small annoyance about 'blocked' files from the internet.
Because Win7 tags anything downloaded from the internet as unsafe
the compiled help files (.chm) don't seem to run properly from within
the program.
When you run NirLauncher and click on the description of a utility it
should open the corresponding help file but it often doesn't work
properly. You end up with a 'Navigation to the Webpage was cancelled'
message.

To fix that and remove the Security Warning nag message you can:
Clear the box 'Always ask before opening this file'
or
Right-click the file, Properties and 'Unblock'
or
Delete the Alternate Data Stream embedded in the file

So to fix everything in one go:
Start NirLauncher and click on the Disk Utilities tab.
Start Alternate Stream View and browse to the Nirsoft folder you
downloaded.
Make sure Scan Subfolders are selected and do a Scan.
Click on Edit and select all.
Click on the red X to remove the alternate data Zone.Identifier:$DATA)
from all files.

Thx

 

[Jeff Layman]

I'm a big fan of Nir Sofer's Windows software and have just discovered
there is now a launcher for most of his programs.
http://launcher.nirsoft.net/
If you like poking around in Win7 then you may find this tool useful.
I've learnt a lot over the years from his software and help files.

There is a small annoyance about 'blocked' files from the internet.
Because Win7 tags anything downloaded from the internet as unsafe
the compiled help files (.chm) don't seem to run properly from within
the program.
When you run NirLauncher and click on the description of a utility it
should open the corresponding help file but it often doesn't work
properly. You end up with a 'Navigation to the Webpage was cancelled'
message.

To fix that and remove the Security Warning nag message you can:
Clear the box 'Always ask before opening this file'
or
Right-click the file, Properties and 'Unblock'
or
Delete the Alternate Data Stream embedded in the file

So to fix everything in one go:
Start NirLauncher and click on the Disk Utilities tab.
Start Alternate Stream View and browse to the Nirsoft folder you
downloaded.
Make sure Scan Subfolders are selected and do a Scan.
Click on Edit and select all.
Click on the red X to remove the alternate data Zone.Identifier:$DATA)
from all files.

Thanks - very useful, but why didn't you post this 2 weeks ago?!

I had exactly this problem at that time with several *.chm files, and it
took some time before I found the solution (clear "Always ask before opening
this file"). It also apples to the Sysinternals compiled help files
(somewhat ironic as they are of Microsoft origin). I haven't found any
other type of file that needs to have that box cleared. Any idea why it
only seems to apply to *.chm files.

 

[Dave-UK]

Thanks - very useful, but why didn't you post this 2 weeks ago?!

I had exactly this problem at that time with several *.chm files, and it
took some time before I found the solution (clear "Always ask before opening
this file"). It also apples to the Sysinternals compiled help files
(somewhat ironic as they are of Microsoft origin). I haven't found any
other type of file that needs to have that box cleared. Any idea why it
only seems to apply to *.chm files.

I think it's because the help file is called from the parent program and although
the parent program is unblocked the help file is not, (unless you do it yourself
before running the program).

 

[Char Jackson]

Thanks - very useful, but why didn't you post this 2 weeks ago?!

I had exactly this problem at that time with several *.chm files, and it
took some time before I found the solution (clear "Always ask before opening
this file"). It also apples to the Sysinternals compiled help files
(somewhat ironic as they are of Microsoft origin). I haven't found any
other type of file that needs to have that box cleared. Any idea why it
only seems to apply to *.chm files.

I've read that .chm files can contain malware. I expect that's the
reason that filetype is blocked by default.

 

[Dave-UK]

I've read that .chm files can contain malware. I expect that's the
reason that filetype is blocked by default.

It's not only .chm files but seems to apply to all file types from
the internet, (or possibly another computer as well).
If you download Autoruns as an example:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx
When unzipped there are three files types, .chm, .txt and .exe
and all have the 'Unblock' button active in the Properties tab.