The browser that comes up as your system's default can be a source of frustration, especially if you've switched sides at some point during the browser wars. Clicking on an HTML file in Windows Explorer, or sometimes even from links on a page you're already looking at, can open a browser other than you expect. Both Microsoft and Netscape browsers can each check to see which is the default browser and offer itself as the default. Both can also turn off this check, which presents a problem: If you want to change the default later on, how do you reenable the check?

If you are using Netscape Communicator 4.x, make sure you exit Communicator and all its components. Go to your personal profile directory (typically, C:Program filesNetscape UsersProfilename). Open the file Prefs.js in Notepad and change user_pref("browser.wfe.ignore_def_check", true) from "true" to "false." Save the file and exit the editor. The next time you load Communicator or any of its components, you will once again be asked whether you want to make it the default browser. This is fairly simple in Internet Explorer.

In IE3 or IE4, open Internet Options or Options (depending on the version you're using), located under the View menu (in IE5, Internet Options is under the Tools menu). On the Programs tab, click on the checkbox that says "Internet Explorer should check to see if it is the default browser." Now if IE is not the default browser, the program will ask you if you want to make it so.

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