NOTE: This information is to be used only if you are an adult and have forgotten the IE content advisor password. It is not to be used by minors trying to circumvent the content advisor password set by parents or other authorities! Abuse of this information is strictly prohibited.

So, someone was messing around with your computer and set a content advisor password in Internet Explorer and now you can't access certain legitimate sites because of it? Your spouse set it to keep the kids out of certain sites; a very noble gesture. If only you could remember the password. Despair no more, here is the solution!

Now that we have the unpleasantness behind us, I'll summarize what is involved in this procedure. It involves deleting a file in the \Windows\System directory and using the registry editor to remove a value from the registry. Please note that deleting the file and not removing this value from the registry will render your Internet Explorer Web Browser completely inoperable; it will "cancel navigation" and inform you that the ratings have been tampered with. Registry editing requires an element of caution, back up the registry before you edit it. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, then contact Microsoft Technical Support for an alternative method (if one exists) or have somebody who is experienced with registry editing assist you.

Open the registry editor and browse to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ MICROSOFT \ WINDOWS \ CURRENTVERSION \ POLICIES \ RATINGS

Click on the Key (folder) named Ratings in the left pane of Regedit. In the right pane, you will see a binary value named key that has a hexadecimal string that represents the content advisor password in encrypted form. Right-click on this value and choose Delete. Exit the registry editor.

Now you need to open Windows Explorer and delete the file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\RATINGS.POL.

Once the registry value and the file have been removed, reboot your computer. Now, if you open Internet Explorer and go to Tools/Internet Options and click the Content Advisor tab, you'll see that the Settings button is now grayed out and the Enable button is visible. It is as if content advisor were never enabled.