Unlocking a “read only” registry entry in Windows 7

Question

My registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main is being locked up by malicious software. My home page is changed and I can't change it back because of the entry's permission being set to "READ ONLY".

How can I remove the lock and change the key?

Answer 1

I solved it:

1. Right-click on the entry and select "Permissions"→"Advanced"→"Owner".
2. Change "SYSTEM" to "Administrator"

Now the entry can be modified.

Answer 2

It seems you are actually "infected" by some malware, but don't worry it doesn't seem to be important.

You should use HiJackThis to determine which malware is on your computer (install, launch, copy the result and paste it in the main page form to examine it) or use some spyware removal tool (Ad-Aware/Spybot), an antivirus AND CCleaner, several times to be sure your computer is clean. You can then check it again with HiJackThis.