[WEB4LIB] Versions of Netscape

[Justin Scott]

While I can't speak for added functionality (beside the "Shop", "My 
Netscape", and "Radio" features), Netscape 4.72 seems quite stable and 
would probably fix a nice amount of security holes.  I should add that my 
work has been for a departmental computer lab that doesn't have the same 
"total lockdown" requirements so you'll need to test all of these 
suggestions to be sure they work the same for you.

To disable email, rename the "Mail" folder inside the default profile-- 
doesn't matter to what (MailX works). If that folder doesn't exist, 
Netscape pretty much disables mail functionality. (but check to be sure, 
it's been a while since I've tested all of this)

I'm not sure how to disable newsgroup functionality-- never really tried.

To disable AIM, delete the AIM directory inside [wherever it's 
installed]\Netscape\Programs, and then (this is the hardest part-- be 
*sure* you know what you're doing) go into the registry, do 2 searches: one 
for "AOL" and one for "AIM".  Delete anything that seems AOL Instant 
Messenger related. (You will get a LOT of non-AOL related items, too-- when 
in the slightest doubt, DO NOT DELETE and see if it works).  The most 
important ones to delete are the "Netscape Trusted Application" entries 
(not sure where they are, but hopefully you'll know them when you see 
them), as I think once those are gone it takes AOL Instant Messenger off 
the Communcator drop-downs.

Good luck!

--
Justin Scott
Programmer / Analyst
UCLA Dept. of Information Studies
jmscott at ucla.edu
(310) 825-2159

At 08:07 AM 6/21/00, Huntington Woods Public Library wrote:
>Good Morning,
>
>I have a question about the different versions of Netscape.  I know about
>Netscape Standalone 4.08 (we use it on our public terminals with Librowse
>protecting the system).  However, I am curious if upgrading to 4.7 will give
>our patrons some added functionality and also get rid of the hassles of
>integrating Librowse.  If I do this, I need to find a way to disable AIM,
>Netscape Composer, Netscape Messenger.  What are your experiences with
>different versions of Netscape?
>
>I will be configuring the browser to super kiosk mode with many options
>disabled thanks to the many useful tutorials online (many can be found at
>Andrew Mutch's site http://tln.lib.mi.us/~nort/tech/netscape.html.).
>However, when experimenting with the full version of Netscape 4.7, when I
>click on an e-mail address, the e-mail client opens.  Again, can this be
>disabled?
>
>Thank you in advance for all your help.
>
>***********************************************
>Brent J. Pliskow
>Technology Coordinator
>Huntington Woods Public Library
>http://www.huntington-woods.lib.mi.us