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Windows Scripting Host (WSH)
WSH is included in Microsoftīs Windows 98 and Windows 2000. If Internet Explorer v.5 is installed, you will get WSH in your version of Windows as well. It consists of 2 files, "cscript.exe" and "wscript.exe". These files execute all scriptfiles that conform to the Active X scripting interface, such as Visual Basic Script (VBScript) and Javascript.

WSH executes, without asking questions, all script files that are being sent to it. Thus, the "I Love You"-virus was handled by WSH because Outlook asked WSH to execute these scripts when they arrived with an e-mail. Because of this, Microsoft has disabled the automatic transfer of scriptfiles in Outlook, ver. 98 and 2000, and only allows scripts for Word and Excel to pass through Outlook.

 It is clear, however, that if you donīt trust the security settings in your mailhandler, you could always disable this WSH. The "brutal" way would be to remove the files "cscript.exe" and "wscript.exe". A more civilized way would be to adjust the settings in your mailhandler/browser. Internet Explorer is a browser, which uses Outlook Express as mailhandler, unless you have installed Office, in which case Outlook would be available.
Netscape is a browser which uses its own "Messenger" as mailhandler. Letīs look at these 2 browsers.

Internet Explorer

In the "Tools" menu, go to "Internet Options". From the ensuing display, you choose "security", mark the leftmost Icon (labelled "Internet") and then click on "Custom Level" further down. You will then get the display shown at right (figure 1). In this tree-structure you can check/uncheck the functions you want (and donīt want).

Figure 1

Netscape

In Netscape v. 4.5 and later (you are not using an older version, are you? Netscape is free!) you click on "Preferences" in the "Edit" menu. In the tree structure at left in the ensuing display, there are now 2 places where you can go.
  1. You expand "Navigator" and click on "Applications". You will then get a display resembling the one at right (figure 2). As you scroll through this (usually) pretty long list of supporting programs, you will probably finf items like "Java script program" and similar (indicated by arrows). Further down in this alphabetical kisting, you will in all likelihood find VBScript. If you mark one of these (letīs take "Java script program", for instance) and click on "Edit", you will find that you can check the "Ask me before opening downloaded files of this type"-function. You can also remove the program that you have marked, and this does not mean that the program gets uninstalled. It just means that Netscape wonīt, in the future, ask the assistance of this program when encountering a downloaded file of the appropriate type.

    Going further down, you will also find "Windows Script Host Settings File", if you fulfill the conditions stated in the first paragraph above.

  2. Leaving "Applications" you can then proceed to "Advanced" in the selection tree. Here, you have the possibility of disabling Java, Java scripts and cookies, if you like.

Figure 2

Last Updated: 2007-01-02
Author: Ove Johnsson