When I first received my laptop from Dell, I quickly noticed something different in Internet Explorer:

Apparently, my copy of Internet Explorer was provided by Dell. I immediately disliked the idea that this reminder would be present every time I used Internet Explorer. I began looking for a way to remove it, and it turned out to be pretty simple. All you need to do is change a registry key, located here:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Main

and depicted here:

Solution

Some of the instructions found in this article involve modifying the Windows registry. If modified incorrectly, serious problems may occur. It is highly recommended by both the author of this article, and by Microsoft – that you back up the registry before you modify it. For information on how to do this, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge article:

MSKB 322756 –  How to back up and restore the registry in Windows.

To remove the Dell branding, all you need to do is:

1. Click Start – Run (or press Windows Key + R). Type regedit.exe in the “Run” dialog, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to “HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain” using the Registry Editor.
3. Right-click the “Window Title” key.
4. Select “Modify”.
5. Select the “provided by Dell” text in the “Value Data” textbox, and press Delete.
6. Click OK.
7. Close and re-open Internet Explorer.

If you would prefer a quicker way, and have Windows Vista, you can download and execute this registry file:

remove-dell-branding-in-ie7-titlebar.reg (right-click, save link/target as)

Executing this file will change the window title automatically. Keep in mind, I only tested it with a system that is running Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7. Using this file in a different environment is discouraged.

See Also

MSKB 176497 - How to Change the Internet Explorer Window Title