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BOOT CAMP 434 (25/07/06)
Windows XP Top Tips part 1
It has been a while since we’ve featured any
hints and tips for Windows XP so without more ado here’s a selection of simple
tweaks to improve your PC’s security, safeguard your privacy and add some extra
functionality.
Our first two tips are concerned with
protecting your computer from malicious software and Windows XP has a number of
little known and largely underused features that prevent programs from interfering
with key settings and systems files; (see also this week’s Top Tip).
This first one is designed to prevent
unauthorised changes to the Registry, your User Profiles and the contents of
the My Documents. It comes into play when installing software downloaded from
the web; it allows the program to access the Registry and read data, but it
won’t let it make any alterations. To use it right-click on the program’s
installation or ‘exe’ file and select ‘Run As’. A dialogue box opens
with the option to ‘Protect My Computer’; make sure that it is selected and
click OK to proceed. It is important to close all running programs before using
Protect Mode as it can affect legitimate applications that need to access the
Registry.
The
second XP safety feature is called Data Execution Protection and this checks
for suspicious activity in your PC’s critical System files and major
applications. To enable it open System Properties by pressing Winkey + Break
(or right-click My Computer on the Start menu and select Properties). Select
the Advanced tab and under Performance click the Settings button. Finally,
select the Data Execution Protection tab and check the option ‘Turn on DEP for
all programs and services…’ Click OK and after a restart it’s activated.
Windows XP has some rudimentary CD writing
facilities but it lacks the flexibility of third party applications like Nero
Burning and Media Creator. Prior to the launch of Windows XP Microsoft
developed some ‘Power Toys’ to add extra some CD writing functions but they were
never officially released. However, development continued and a freeware
utility called ISO Recorder,
based on the original MS PowerToy, adds CD and DVD copying and ISO file
recording to XP’s other facilities. (You may recall we looked at ISO recording
in Boot Camp 431 feature on Windows Vista)
ISO Recorder operates as a Shell Extension, which
means there is no program to launch and it works inside Windows Explorer. Once
installed all you have to do is right-click on an ISO image file (extension
*.iso) then select ‘Copy Image to CD’ from the drop-down menu. To duplicate a
CD or DVD simply right-click on the icon of the drive containing the disc you
want to copy and choose Create image from CD from the drop-down menu that
appears, it’s that easy!
It’s bad enough that the Internet is awash with
spyware and malware but now it looks as though Microsoft has been getting in on
the act. This concerns recent Windows XP updates, which contain something
called Windows Genuine Advantage or ‘WGA’.
This checks to make sure that your copy of XP is properly validated,
before the update will proceed, which is fair enough. However, at the same time
WGA was installed you also got something called the WGA Notification Tool and
this has a more sinister side to it.
Every time you boot up your PC (or once a day
if it’s left running) it ‘calls home’, without your permission to the Microsoft
mothership. In fact you probably agreed to it but who reads these things?
Microsoft say it is meant to alert them to the presence of pirated software,
but why does it need to carry out this check every day, and what data is sent
from you PC?
If you are at all concerned about this worrying
development, which sounds and behaves suspiciously like Spyware, then you can
stop the Notification Tool making use of your Internet connection by blocking
it with your Firewall. Otherwise you can safely remove it, (and leave the
necessary WGA validation component in place) with a freeware utility called WGA Notification removal
tool.
Our final tip this week highlights yet another
useful feature of our old friend Tweak UI
for XP, and if you haven’t got it
yet, download it now. Tweak UI is part
of the PowerToys suite of tools from Microsoft and it’s a way of safely
changing the way Windows looks and works, without going anywhere near the
Registry.
The
feature we’re looking at here customises the ‘Places Bar’. That’s the vertical
row of icons you see on the left of Open and SaveAs dialogue boxes in Windows
and most major applications. They’re basically shortcuts to frequently used
location and folders such as Desktop, My Computer, My Documents and so on. The
trouble is they may not be the folders you use most often, which is where Tweak
UI comes in.
Once
installed open the program and go to Common Dialogues > Places bar, click
the ‘Custom’ button and either make a selection from the drop down menu of
Windows presets or enter your own by typing in the drive letter and path of the
folder you want the Places Bar to point to.
NEXT WEEK – More XP Top Tips
JARGON FILTER
ISO FILE
International Standards
Organisation image file (aka ISO 9660); a filing system or a collection of all
of the files or ‘image’ of the files on a CD or DVD.
REGISTRY
A large,
constantly changing collection of Windows system files containing configuration
information for both the PC and programs stored on the hard disc
SHELL EXTENSION
A program
or component incorporated into Windows Explorer (the Windows
'shell'), usually accessed from a right-click menu'
TOP TIP
If your Windows XP computer has been crashing, slowing down or
just generally misbehaving recently then it’s possible that one or
more of your System files have been changed, possibly by malware or a virus.
You can easily eliminate this from the list of possible causes by going to Run
on the Start menu and type ‘sigverif’ (without the quotes) and this launches
the Windows File Signature Verification utility. The process takes a few
minutes and try not to use the PC while it is working. When it has finished it
displays a report of its findings, flagging up any files that failed the test,
along with the date they were modified and this might point to a program or
application you’ve installed that’s behind the problem. Don’t forget, there’s a full archive of previous Boot Camp Top
Tips at www.rickmaybury.com
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© R. Maybury 2006, 0507
part 2
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