CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#internet-explorerregistryadd-on
Garrett
Garrett

Reputation: 555

How to find all installed Add-ons for Internet Explorer programmatically in a console application

I have seen a few questions on how to enable and disable add-ons for Internet Explorer, but none that simply list the names of the installed add-ons.

While trying to get this working on my own, I've found that a few of my installed add-ons show up in this location: 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions'

In that location, I find 3 out of 13 add-ons that I find when I open the Manage Add-ons dialog within Internet Explorer.

Here is a small peice of code I planned on using to accesss the registry after I found where the Add-ons are kept, but I unfortunately have been stuck looking through Regedit (Registry Editor) for some time.

Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey objVistaRegistryKey = Microsoft.Win32.Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(@"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions");

Here is some more info about IE toolbars/addons. Many of them use Browser Helper Objects(BHO), some are stored here: 

'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects'

Any extra insight would be most appreciated.

Upvotes: 3

Views: 5464

Answers (1)

noseratio
noseratio

Reputation: 61726

From this source:

Browser Helper Objects - Browser plug-ins which are designed to enhance the browser's functionality. Entries can be found in the registry at: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects

Toolbars - Additional toolbars that appear in a browser, often below the address bar. Entries can be found in the registry at: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar

URLSearchHooks - Used when an address without a protocol such as http:// has been entered in the browser's address bar. Entries can be found in the registry at: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\URLSearchHooks

Explorer Bars - Internet Explorer sidebars located adjacent to the browser pane. Entries can be found in the registry at: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Explorer Bars
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Explorer Bars

Additionally, from MSDN:

custom items for context menu:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt\<Menu Text>
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MenuExt\<Menu Text>

Custom items for Tools menu, custom toolbar buttons:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions\{GUID}

Upvotes: 3

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