I hate the Internet Explorer information bar with a passion. You know the one, it says stuff like “Your security settings do not allow websites to use ActiveX controls installed on your computer,” and I’ve done about a million searches trying to find out how to disable it. The answer is invariably “go into options and enable ActiveX for scripting.” The problem with this solution is that it assumes I want ActiveX to work, when in fact, I deliberately disabled it because I don’t want Flash to run in IE, but I do want it to run in FireFox. Anyway, the good news is I finally figured out how to get rid of it.

1. Download TweakUI*

2. Back up your files and registry. I’ve never had a problem, but there’s no reason to take any risks.

3. Start TweakUI. Click + next to About, then Policy, then the Run Group Policy Editor button.

4. Browse to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer > Security Features > Information Bar

5. Open Internet Explorer Processes and select Disabled, then do the same for All Processes.

6. Restart IE and no more Information Bar!

*TweakUI has all kinds of fun options, like the ability to prevent applications from stealing focus and get rid of otherwise undeletable desktop icons.