Here's our Windows NT Tip for.. September 21, 1999
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Protecting Yourself From Stray Reg File
From time to time, you often find REG files with programs. The problem is, once you double-click a REG file, its contents get placed into the Registry. Sure, you get a dialog box that tells you the file has been entered into the Registry, but it tells you it has--it doesn't ask if that's what you want. Here's a way you can make sure that REG file contents don't accidentally get loaded into your Registry.

To prevent REG files from changing the Registry on a double-click, open My Computer and choose View, Options. When the Options dialog box opens, click the File Types tab and then scroll to Registration Entries and select it. Now, click Edit. In the Actions list, select Edit and click Set Default. Now click Close and back in the Options dialog box, click Close again.

From now on, when you double-click a REG file, it will open in Notepad. When you want to use the file to modify your Registry, right-click its icon and choose Merge.