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General discussion

RE: MSCONFIG

Apr 14, 2005 11:55PM PDT

I wanted to remind those unfamiliar with these things that when you use MSCONFIG to prevent a program from running, keep this in mind:

Some programs (Spy/Adware mostly) are designed to reactivate the Windows Startup option the next time they run. The program is designed to look for it's startup entry in the Registry, and if not found, put it in again.

The value of a program such as Spybot's TeaTimer application (and another mentioned earlier) is that any attempt to add an item to startup is met with a box asking your approval. There are other apps that do this, but make sure you investigate each one. Some of them are Spy/Adware themselves, just out to kick off the competition. Check your applications against this list:
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

That site is a great informational tool about Anti-Spyware that is actually Spyware.



-- Louie

"The only dumb question is the one you DID NOT ask."

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