Xp updates usually address security holes in Xp which
are numerous!

All you need is a good antivirus and a firewall,
spyware cleaner.

IMHO you should turn off auto updates!

Keep checking my website should be on-line soon.

http://drpcdr.ca

Tweak XP

Right Click My Computer >Properties >System Restore
Tab >Settings
>Slide to Minimum (200MB) >OK

>Auto Updates Tab >Turn Off Auto Updates
>Apply >OK

>Remote Tab >Uncheck Remote Asisstance and Remote
Desktop
>Apply >OK

Start >Control Panel >Admin Tools >Services >Automatic
Updates
>Startup Type >Change to Disabled >Service Status
>Click Stop
>Apply >OK

>Error Reporting >Startup Type >Change to Disabled
>Service Status >Click Stop
>Apply >OK

>Messenger >Startup Type >Change to Disabled >Service
Status >Click Stop
>Apply >OK

>Remote Desktop Help >Startup Type >Change to Disabled
>Service Status
>Click Stop >Apply >OK

>Remote Registry >Startup Type >Change to Disabled
>Service Status
>Click Stop >Apply >OK

>Task Scheduler >Startup Type >Change to Disabled
>Service Status
>Click Stop >Apply >OK

>Telnet >Startup Type >Change to Disabled >Service
Status
>Click Stop >Apply >OK

Start >Control Panel >Network Connections >Right Click
Connection
>Advanced >Checkmark Protect my computer by limiting
or preventing
access to this computer from the Internet >OK

Chris

--- GeneralStuff <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> For the first time, since I've had Win XP Home, a
> window popped up saying it
> was doing an 'automatic update', and it took a
> little while to run.  I'm a
> little nervous about anything that my computer does
> on its own.  I looked in
> "Help" to see exactly what was going on and it said
> it was doing updates in
> the program relative to security.  I got the
> impression this would be a good
> idea, because otherwise I could be sitting with a
> 'hole' in my system for a
> long time before I thought to check for any needed
> updates.  I left it as
> is, but now I'm wondering if there are drawbacks to
> letting my system do
> automatic updates.  Any comments?  --Carol Hanson
>
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I don't like Microsoft having unsupervised access to
> my computer either.  After they "fixed" Internet
> Explorer so it wouldn't copy some embedded images to
> the the clipboard (putting "links to the original
> images" there instead), I went to msconfig -
> services and turned off "Automatic Updates." When I
> tried to do it within the software, MS kept turning
> it back on.
>
> The long answer:  MS is already putting precursors
> of the old (and controversial) "Palladium"  nee
> "Longhorn," nee "Vista on machines."  A copy/paste
> that I did weekly from my bank suddenly stopped
> working and research pinned it down to IE now
> failing to place these items on the clipboard - this
> embedded image failure is across all applications
> that you attempt to paste an IE image into.  Some
> images still copy and you can copy the image
> separately as opposed to embedded, but you get the
> link, not the actual image. This change with IE
> forces you to allow Word unfettered access to "phone
> home" if you want to paste images from the internet
> into Word and then view them later.  The ultimate
> goal is to allow vendors, including MS, to have
> remote access, whenever you run their software, to
> be able to remotely disable software on your PC and
> delete the files it created from your PC if they
> think you might have "pirated" something.  The
> government of course, wants in on this access too.
> It it Orwell scary!
>
> I reformatted and reinstalled a clean copy of XP
> SP1.  I installed one update that I identified and
> downloaded myself related to NTFS file deletions.  I
> won't use SP2 or any other update unless it is
> something I particularly want.  I have not been able
> to find a previous copy of IE that worked with my
> bank images (before SP1).  I have both hardware and
> software firewalls, anti-virus that also checks my
> web pages for worms & such before presenting them to
> me, ad/spy ware immunization & prevention monitoring
> & periodic scanning (never finds any).  I have
> disabled some dangerous things such as Messenger,
> UPnP, DCOM, etc. and closed ports used by Task
> Scheduler etc.  (I do my tasks on demand).  Any
> folders that contain personal data are encrypted
> with 256 AES and a 12 char-dig-symb random password
> that I have memorized.  Any software that uses
> sensitive data (Roboform, MSMoney, TreePad, etc) are
> also passworded with this password.  Online scans
> say my ports are completely stealthed (invisible to
> pings from hackers).  I have been happy with this
> with no problems for a couple of years now and don't
> intend to let MS mess with it.  I will switch to
> Apple before I allow Longhorn, Vista, the FritzChip
> or any of MS's attempts to gain control of my PC to
> happen.  After the first time MS tried this (then
> called "Palladium") in 2003 and started an uproar,
> they are being VERY careful about what they say
> about Vista and are hiding their ultimate agenda
> very well.  They even formed a consortium/cartel
> with Intel, HP, IBM & AMD to try to spread the blame
> in case it blows up in their face again.
> "NGSCB (nee Palladium) is the ultimate "phone home."
> You still pay for the PC in your home, but you no
> longer control it - or your files."
>
> A "Games Explorer," designed to list all the games
> stored on a user's computer, also will be part of
> Vista Beta 1.
>
> A feature called "Network Location Awareness
> Service" is designed to collect network information,
> "such as the DNS suffix of your computer, bandwidth
> availability, and intranet connectivity," and make
> this information available through an application
> programming interface to applications that may
> require this information.
>
> "When Microsoft Corp. distributes the preview
> release of Longhorn at the WinHEC at the end of this
> month, it will look quite different from the early
> Longhorn bits it distributed at the same show a year
> ago.
>
> Unlike last year's Longhorn Windows Hardware
> Engineering Conference preview build, this year's
> will include the first pieces of Microsoft's
> built-in Windows "security" system (again, don't
> interpret this as security FOR YOU).
>
> That system-originally code-named "Palladium," (and
> more recently, "Next-Generation 'Secure' Computing
> Base," or NGSCB)-has been one of the most
> controversial of the planned Longhorn components,
> since Microsoft first detailed it in 2003.
>
> The nexus was slated to provide a set of APIs that
> would enable sealed storage (that you and I can't
> get to to disable their access) and other
> foundations for "trusted-computing".
>
> The goal for NGSCB was "to marry hardware (the fritz
> chip) and software to gain better security (again
> NOT security FOR YOU)," said Jim Allchin,
> Microsoft's group vice president for platforms.  (my
> note: this is to make sure you can't "tamper" with
> their ability to have remote access to your PC, or
> so you cannot reformat your PC and install another
> operating system on it.).
>
> That continues to be Microsoft's ultimate goal for
> NGSCB, Allchin said. But the Redmond software vendor
> is planning a longer and different route to achieve
> that end, he acknowledged.
>
> To read more about Longhorn, go to eWEEK.com's
> special report Longhorn, Windows' New Frontier."
>
> http://www.drmwatch.com/special/article.php/3529586
>
>
>
> Vista has one good item that I know of:  Beginning
> with next year's release of Windows Vista Microsoft
> plans to move device drivers out of the kernel and
> onto the user level. At least this one vector of
> attack will be shut down on systems running Vista
> code or later.
>
>
>
> However, I think my system is already well protected
> as it is now and I keep data backups and C partition
> images that can be restored in the extreme case that
> something ever fails me.  I'd like this feature, but
> not enough to turn over control of my PC to MS.
>
>
>
> Microsoft actually has teams of volunteers out on
> forums trying to "sell" us on Vista.  I don't do
> ANYTHING with music on my PC and I purchase all my
> software (that isn't free), but I find the entire
> idea of Palladium/Vista - you buy your PC, but
> others control it - abhorrent and downright scary!
>
>
>
> Anna Summers
>
>         The NOSPIN Group has added a new feature on
> our website,
>            web based bulletinboard for questions and
> answers:
>               Visit our sister website at
> http://nospin.com
>


http://drpcdr.ca
Tel 416 398 DRPC
71 Sentinel Rd
Toronto, ON, M3J 1T1
[log in to unmask]



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