Clean out XP for Solo Operation
April 15, 2014 1:48 PM Subscribe
My XP system is severed from the internet and runs beautifully as a stand alone. It has never been as responsive as now. I still have nag screens that are looking for an anti-virus and firewall. How are they disabled? I used REVO Uninstaller and CCleaner to remove as much of the old internet crud as possible. What other internet features that are not listed in Add or Remove programs or Revo can be removed and how is it done?
Solomon has it.
You might tiptoe through the Services management console (Start -> Run -> services.msc) and see if there's anything there that's causing a particular annoyance. However, I wouldn't go turning things off at random or without a specific purpose.
Lastly, check the startup folder (Start-> Programs -> Startup) and get rid of anything that looks like an updater for an existing application. You will not be updating Java or Flash or Quicktime or Winamp etc., so you can kill off those annoying little gadgets that check for updates at startup and feel that justifies running forever and ever. Google the filename of anything you're not familiar with.
posted by Sunburnt at 5:53 PM on April 15, 2014
You might tiptoe through the Services management console (Start -> Run -> services.msc) and see if there's anything there that's causing a particular annoyance. However, I wouldn't go turning things off at random or without a specific purpose.
Lastly, check the startup folder (Start-> Programs -> Startup) and get rid of anything that looks like an updater for an existing application. You will not be updating Java or Flash or Quicktime or Winamp etc., so you can kill off those annoying little gadgets that check for updates at startup and feel that justifies running forever and ever. Google the filename of anything you're not familiar with.
posted by Sunburnt at 5:53 PM on April 15, 2014
The best program for getting rid of auto-starting programs is "Autoruns". There are other ways to auto-start besides the Startup folder, and Autoruns gets them all.
But be careful with it. If you're too aggressive you can brick your machine.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:10 PM on April 15, 2014
But be careful with it. If you're too aggressive you can brick your machine.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:10 PM on April 15, 2014
It sounds like Security Center, as solomon mentioned above.
Also, naked is fine, but please consider that USB sticks can be a vector for nasties. Autoplay / Autorun should be disabled for USB sticks (assuming you're running SP2), which reduces your exposure.
posted by defcom1 at 7:50 AM on April 16, 2014
Also, naked is fine, but please consider that USB sticks can be a vector for nasties. Autoplay / Autorun should be disabled for USB sticks (assuming you're running SP2), which reduces your exposure.
posted by defcom1 at 7:50 AM on April 16, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
Other than that, it could be Windows Security Center that's popping up. How to disable it.
posted by Solomon at 2:09 PM on April 15, 2014 [1 favorite]