Registry Cleaner?

[R. McCarty]

See the following for a basic explanation of the Registry.
http://www.easydesksoftware.com/rworks.htm

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Yes, I got Zone Alarms free version. I have been reading a rather lengthy
discussion on the microsoft.public.security.virus newsgroup about the
merits, or lack of, of Windows XP firewall. In one of the messages the
person said to leave the XP firewall on in addition to Zone Alarm to provide
boot protection. I also have read in the past from people that say never
run two different firewalls. Would it be safe to run Windows Firewall and
Zone Alarm at the same time? Thanks

It probably won't hurt anything to have WinXP's firewall running along
with ZoneAlarm, but it will be an unnecessary waste of system resources
to run 2 firewalls at once.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrum Russell

 

[Bruce Chambers]

The way prices have dropped recently it is worth considering
purchasing a router, even for a single computer, and not using a
software firewall. Especially on an older computer or one with
minimal RAM where the processing load imposed by a software firewall
would slow the machine noticeably.

I'd have to disagree. If you use a router with NAT, it's still a
very good idea to use a 3rd party software firewall. Like WinXP's
built-in firewall, NAT-capable routers do nothing to protect the user
from him/herself (or any "curious," over-confident teenagers in the
home). Again -- and I cannot emphasize this enough -- almost all
spyware and many Trojans and worms are downloaded and installed
deliberately (albeit unknowing of the potential consequences) by the
user. So a software firewall, such as Sygate or ZoneAlarm, that can
detect and warn the user of unauthorized out-going traffic is an
important element of protecting one's privacy and security. (Remember:
Most anti-virus applications do not even scan for or protect you from
adware/spyware, because, after all, you've installed them yourself, so
you must want them there, right?)

I use both a router with NAT and Sygate Personal Firewall, even
though I generally know better than to install scumware. When it comes
to computer security and protecting my privacy, I prefer the old "belt
and suspenders" approach. In the professional IT community, this is
also known as a "layered defense." Basically, it comes down to never,
ever "putting all of your eggs in one basket."


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrum Russell

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I don't mean to be rude, but who is Bertrum Russell? I know of one
Bertrand Russell, no Bertrum Russell's !!

Don't worry, you're not being rude, at all. "Bertrum" Russell is my
own special misspelling of "Bertrand Russell." Thanks for pointing out
my mistake.

Could you also please tell me if there is a good resource for learning
how to edit the registry, somthing that explains the meaning, function,
and purpose of all these strange long identifiers (intended to be
self-explanatory I guess) starting with HKEY_

A couple of places to start:

JSI, Inc's Reghacks - WinNT - Win2K - WinXP
http://www.jsifaq.com/

Windows Registry Guide (as long as you ignore their advertisements for
registry cleaners)
http://www.winguides.com/registry/

Books:

Microsoft Windows Registry Guide, 2nd Edition
by Jerry Honeycutt

Mastering Windows XP Registry
by P.D. & P. Hipson


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell