Uninstalled MacAfee antivirus. It deleted a program called WEBSCAN. Their software changed Windows to call WEBSCAN when ever an extension of .exe is detected (similar to calling a specific program with an extension of .jpg or .doc). Uninstalling removes the MacAFee software, but it does not reset the the Windows function to its original state (when an .exe is detected the system executes the program). BTW, this function is protected by Windows so that the user cannot change... McAFee went behind Windows. Since I downloaded the original software and don't have a disc, I can't reinstall. Any ideas? Thanks

Can you do a System Restore?

this might help you maby not ,read and see Manually Removing VirusScan 4.x To remove VirusScan using the uninstall utility: Click Start in the Windows taskbar, choose Settings, point to Control Panel, and open. Open the Add/Remove Programs utility from the folder. Highlight VirusScan on the program list, and click Add/Remove to uninstall VirusScan. To remove VirusScan without using the uninstall utility, follow these steps: (Some of the steps may not apply. Just proceed to the next) 1. Remove references to VirusScan from your AUTOEXEC.BAT and your SYSTEM.INI files. To do so, follow these steps A. Start the Windows system editor. Click Start in the Windows taskbar, then choose Run. Type SYSEDIT in the Run dialog box, then click OK. A set of text files will open on your screen. Your AUTOEXEC.BAT file should appear as the first or topmost window in this set. Locate and delete the text of each line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file that refers to VirusScan. Be sure also to delete @IF ERRORLEVEL 1 PAUSE if it appears in the file. B. Click the title bar for the SYSTEM.INI window to bring it to the foreground, then locate this line [boot]SCRNSAVE.EXE=C\PROGRA~1\NETWOR~1\MCAFEE~1\SCRSCAN.exe C. Change the line to read [boot]SCRNSAVE.EXE=C\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\WINDOW~1.SCR D. When you have restored your SYSTEM.INI file to its original state, choose Save from the SYSEDIT File menu to save your changes, then choose Exit from the File menu to quit the SYSEDIT application. 2. Remove VirusScan icons from the Start menu. To do this, follow these steps: A. Click Start in the Windows taskbar, point to Settings, then choose Taskbar. B. Click the Start Menu Programs tab. C. Click the Remove button. D. Select the McAfee VirusScan folder in the list that appears in the Remove Shortcuts/Folders dialog box, then click Remove. E. Windows will ask you to confirm your action. Click Yes to continue. F. Click Close to close the Remove Shortcuts/Folders dialog box, then click OK to close the Taskbar Properties dialog box. 3. Edit the Registry. To do this, follow these steps A. Start the Windows Registry editor. Click Start in the Windows taskbar, then choose Run. Type REGEDIT in the Run dialog box, then click OK. B. Click + to expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder, click + again to expand the SOFTWARE folder, then click one more time to expand the CLASSES folder. Next, delete these keys or entries: \.vsc \.vsh \CLSID\{9EF56D61-A50F-11ce-B105-0000C04B2D52} \CLSID\{9EF56D61-A50F-11ce-B105-0000C04B2D52}\InProcServer32 \CLSID\{C88249A0-AD7E-11cf-AD53-444553540000} \CLSID\{C88249A0-AD7E-11cf-AD53-444553540000}\InProcServer32 \comfile\shell\VirusScan \Directory\shell\VirusScan \Drive\shell\VirusScan \Excel.Addin\shell\VirusScan \Excel.Chart.5\shell\VirusScan \Excel.Chart.8\shell\VirusScan \Excel.Macrosheet\shell\VirusScan \Excel.Sheet.5\shell\VirusScan \Excel.Sheet.8\shell\VirusScan \Excel.Template\shell\VirusScan \Excel.Workspace\shell\VirusScan \Excel.XLL\shell\VirusScan \exefile\shell\VirusScan \Office.Binder.8\shell\VirusScan \Office.Binder.98\shell\VirusScan \rtffile\shell\VirusScan \VSConfigFile \VSHConfigFile \WinZip\shell\VirusScan \Word.Document.6\shell\VirusScan \Word.Document.8\shell\VirusScan \Word.RTF\shell\VirusScan \Word.RTF.8\shell\VirusScan \Word.Template\shell\VirusScan \Word.Template.8\shell\VirusScan

You cant use the RUN line to start any programs like sysedit or regedit so that option is out. I have the very same problem. Did someone say you cant change the extension properties? I went on the mcaffe website and they dont even have a program listed called webscan, it must be a sub program within one of the others.

Same thing happened to me. You cannot run any application after uninstall because it insists on doing a virus scan first, using the application that was already removed. Try the following from McAfee's "whatsnew" file. I tried and it works. It is somewhat lengthy and involves editing the registry manually. I just did the bit for where every file they talk about is gone. ========================================== Manually uninstalling WebScan. NOTE: If you find you must uninstall WebScan manually, we recommend first trying a full re-installation of WebScan (using the Typical installation option), then running the Uninstaller. If this is insufficient, the following procedure may help. a. If the files WCMDR.exe and WCMDR.INI still exist in the Install directory, type the following command (supplying the appropriate directory) to remove the settings: WCMDR -I C:\MCAFEE\WEBSCAN\WCMDR.INI (for Win 3.1x) WCMDR -I "C:\PROGRAM FILES\MCAFEE\WEBSCAN\WCMDR.INI" (for Windows 95) Remove any remaining files or directories in the WebScan installation directory. or b. If the above files do not exist but WEBSCAN.exe does exist (DO NOT remove it yet), and you are running Windows 95 with Internet Explorer installed, WebScan extensions must be unregistered in the registry first. To do this, browse to the \WEBSCAN\AV directory, then run the IEWEBOFF.REG (Registry Settings) file. IMPORTANT: If this is not done properly and the WEBSCAN.exe file is removed prior to this step, the computer will not function normally. The computer can be returned to normal operation by performing the following workaround: (1) Start a DOS prompt (.PIF extensions work fine). (2) Ensure that the current directory is the Windows 95 directory, then type: COPY /V REGEDIT.exe REGEDIT.SCR (3) Exit the DOS Prompt. (4) Choose Run from the Start Menu, then type (supplying the appropriate directory, if needed): REGEDIT.SCR C:\MCAFEE\WEBSCAN\AV\IEWEBOFF.REG (for Windows 3.1x) REGEDIT.SCR "C:\PROGRAM FILES\MCAFEE\WEBSCAN\ AV\IEWEBOFF.REG" (for Windows 95) This launches the Registry Editor and a message appears indicating that the appropriate changes have been made. The computer will function properly and any additional procedures can be performed. If all of the files have been removed, including the .REG files, the Registry settings will need to be modified manually. a. Follow steps (1)-(3) above. b. Choose Run from the Start Menu and type the following command (supplying the appropriate directory, if needed) to launch the Registry editor: REGEDIT.SCR c. Next, browse to each of the updated extensions (.ARC, .ARJ, .COM, .DOC, .DOT, .EXE, .ZIP) under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Each of these will refer to another key, which is more descriptive and without the .extension format. An example is "exefiles." d. Browse to the referenced key and examine the SHELL\OPEN\COMMAND key. There will be a setting entitled Old Default. Using the copy and paste commands, replicate the string into the {default} setting. e. Repeat steps c. and d. for each of the updated extensions. f. Delete the Old Default and WebScan Installed settings. g. Unlink all of the updated applications and manual links to WebScan by removing WebScan from all of the settings. Each of the updated applications has a configuration dialog that allows you choose the correct helper application once WebScan has been removed. h. Remove the WebScan program group and its program items. i. Delete the WebScan directory and its files. A few minor settings will remain, depending on the components installed. Advanced users can refer to the WCMDR.INI file for further details.