Pgm needed for files of type Application

In Windows 98 seeing this message:
=== Program not found ===
Windows cannot find hiitjlbijevjd.exe.

This program is needed for opening files of type ‘Application.”

And, of course, there is no such program hiitjlbijevjd.exe. I know it has something to do with the registry, but running regedit doesn’t work; instead you also get the same error message.

I’m able to see in Explorer View | Folder Options | File Types window that there is a type of Application w/ this info:

Extension: EXE
Content Type (MIME): application/x-msdownload
Opens with: HIITJLBIJEVJD

But the Edit or Remove buttons are unavailable. Trying to add with “New Type” already finds an exisitng entry for file of exefile.

I’d appreciate any help on this!