Vista - A thought on improving Vista security.

Hello everyone,

I have an idea that I think would really help improve Vista security. At
the same time, it would make Vista run faster and take up less space, and it
would make things more difficult for malicious hackers.

Could someone tell me the flaw in this thinking ?

Create an application called "Customize Windows" which presents to the user
a list of yes/no questions. It would look something like this:

"Will you use a tablet PC? â–¡ Y â–¡N"
"Will you use a mobile PC? â–¡Y â–¡N"
"Will you be on a company network ? â–¡Y â–¡N"
"Will you use an ISP? â–¡Y â–¡N"
"Will you be using Bluetooth? â–¡Y â–¡N"
"Will you be working with video? â–¡Y â–¡N"
"Will you use remote connections? â–¡Y â–¡N"
" etc. ..."

After the user has made his/her selections, Vista will go and turn-off
/disable all the tasks, processes, and services that are associated with
those things that the user will not be using.

I know there is already a "turn windows features on/off" but the features
have very technical names that are hard to understand.

If a user changes his/her mind, (s)he can go back into "Customize Windows",
make the changes, and the application can automatically reinstate the
relevant processes, services, and tasks. Also, if the user later installs an
application that needs a disabled process, task, or service, the application
can put up a window that reminds the user to change this-or-that in
"customize windows".

The benefit here is that Vista will not have unused processes, tasks, and
services sitting around taking up space and processing power. Bugs in unused
processes and services (no program is perfect) can be taken advantage of by a
malicious hacker. Vista will run faster and it put a big dent in the
complaint of some people that Vista is "bloated fatware" because it will be
running fewer services, tasks, and processes.

I thought it would be a good thing to share. What do you think ?

Part of the problem is that Vista tends to err on the side of ease-of-use
for the less than average home user and has more things running than may be
needed. This is what makes it the market leader for home users...

I've trimmed my services after reviewing blackviper's longstanding useful
site, and I keep an eye on which services never get started, or start
manually.

I've run msconfig to regulate startup programs. I check event viewer to see
if there are any regular deficiencies to be corrected. I've disabled UAC,
and Superfetch (for the moment).

This is all fine for me, as I (hopefully) know enough to tinker around and
if required set things back to "normal". Most folks don't want to or more
likely are worried they will create a mess, or worse.

Any automated assistant to "improve" Vista would have to be very
comprehensive in its reach and therefore complex. Any problems it would
create (or be seen to create) would get it slated. The profit incentive is
not there either.

I recall the Kelly's Korner had a lot of useful scripts for XP - I'm sure a
set of routines to tune Vista could be packaged, but who would take
responsibility for it?

"Paul" <Paul@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:F40F9066-20FF-4C4B-B464-8C3B68F6786A@microsoft.com...
> Hello everyone,
>
> I have an idea that I think would really help improve Vista security. At
> the same time, it would make Vista run faster and take up less space, and
> it
> would make things more difficult for malicious hackers.
>
> Could someone tell me the flaw in this thinking ?
>
> Create an application called "Customize Windows" which presents to the
> user
> a list of yes/no questions. It would look something like this:
>
> "Will you use a tablet PC? â–¡ Y â–¡N"
> "Will you use a mobile PC? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you be on a company network ? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you use an ISP? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you be using Bluetooth? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you be working with video? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you use remote connections? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> " etc. ..."
>
> After the user has made his/her selections, Vista will go and turn-off
> /disable all the tasks, processes, and services that are associated with
> those things that the user will not be using.
>
> I know there is already a "turn windows features on/off" but the features
> have very technical names that are hard to understand.
>
> If a user changes his/her mind, (s)he can go back into "Customize
> Windows",
> make the changes, and the application can automatically reinstate the
> relevant processes, services, and tasks. Also, if the user later installs
> an
> application that needs a disabled process, task, or service, the
> application
> can put up a window that reminds the user to change this-or-that in
> "customize windows".
>
> The benefit here is that Vista will not have unused processes, tasks, and
> services sitting around taking up space and processing power. Bugs in
> unused
> processes and services (no program is perfect) can be taken advantage of
> by a
> malicious hacker. Vista will run faster and it put a big dent in the
> complaint of some people that Vista is "bloated fatware" because it will
> be
> running fewer services, tasks, and processes.
>
> I thought it would be a good thing to share. What do you think ?

Windows allready does it!

--

http://www.goldwatches.com/watches.asp?Brand=39
"Paul" <Paul@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:F40F9066-20FF-4C4B-B464-8C3B68F6786A@microsoft.com...
> Hello everyone,
>
> I have an idea that I think would really help improve Vista security. At
> the same time, it would make Vista run faster and take up less space, and
> it
> would make things more difficult for malicious hackers.
>
> Could someone tell me the flaw in this thinking ?
>
> Create an application called "Customize Windows" which presents to the
> user
> a list of yes/no questions. It would look something like this:
>
> "Will you use a tablet PC? â–¡ Y â–¡N"
> "Will you use a mobile PC? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you be on a company network ? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you use an ISP? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you be using Bluetooth? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you be working with video? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> "Will you use remote connections? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> " etc. ..."
>
> After the user has made his/her selections, Vista will go and turn-off
> /disable all the tasks, processes, and services that are associated with
> those things that the user will not be using.
>
> I know there is already a "turn windows features on/off" but the features
> have very technical names that are hard to understand.
>
> If a user changes his/her mind, (s)he can go back into "Customize
> Windows",
> make the changes, and the application can automatically reinstate the
> relevant processes, services, and tasks. Also, if the user later installs
> an
> application that needs a disabled process, task, or service, the
> application
> can put up a window that reminds the user to change this-or-that in
> "customize windows".
>
> The benefit here is that Vista will not have unused processes, tasks, and
> services sitting around taking up space and processing power. Bugs in
> unused
> processes and services (no program is perfect) can be taken advantage of
> by a
> malicious hacker. Vista will run faster and it put a big dent in the
> complaint of some people that Vista is "bloated fatware" because it will
> be
> running fewer services, tasks, and processes.
>
> I thought it would be a good thing to share. What do you think ?

Hello James,

I didn't know that Vista already does this ! What program do I need to run ?

You are not, by any chance, talking about "turn windows features on/off" or
"add/remove programs" are you ? The list of windows features is technical
and hard to understand. And "add/remove programs" deals with entire
applications (mostly 3rd party). It doesn't really regulates individual
windows tasks, processes, and services.

________________________________

"James Matthews" wrote:

> Windows allready does it!
>
> --
>
> http://www.goldwatches.com/watches.asp?Brand=39
> "Paul" <Paul@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:F40F9066-20FF-4C4B-B464-8C3B68F6786A@microsoft.com...
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > I have an idea that I think would really help improve Vista security. At
> > the same time, it would make Vista run faster and take up less space, and
> > it
> > would make things more difficult for malicious hackers.
> >
> > Could someone tell me the flaw in this thinking ?
> >
> > Create an application called "Customize Windows" which presents to the
> > user
> > a list of yes/no questions. It would look something like this:
> >
> > "Will you use a tablet PC? â–¡ Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you use a mobile PC? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you be on a company network ? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you use an ISP? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you be using Bluetooth? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you be working with video? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you use remote connections? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > " etc. ..."
> >
> > After the user has made his/her selections, Vista will go and turn-off
> > /disable all the tasks, processes, and services that are associated with
> > those things that the user will not be using.
> >
> > I know there is already a "turn windows features on/off" but the features
> > have very technical names that are hard to understand.
> >
> > If a user changes his/her mind, (s)he can go back into "Customize
> > Windows",
> > make the changes, and the application can automatically reinstate the
> > relevant processes, services, and tasks. Also, if the user later installs
> > an
> > application that needs a disabled process, task, or service, the
> > application
> > can put up a window that reminds the user to change this-or-that in
> > "customize windows".
> >
> > The benefit here is that Vista will not have unused processes, tasks, and
> > services sitting around taking up space and processing power. Bugs in
> > unused
> > processes and services (no program is perfect) can be taken advantage of
> > by a
> > malicious hacker. Vista will run faster and it put a big dent in the
> > complaint of some people that Vista is "bloated fatware" because it will
> > be
> > running fewer services, tasks, and processes.
> >
> > I thought it would be a good thing to share. What do you think ?
>

I do this as well. A program like the "customize windows" that I described
below probably would be complex and introduce some overhead of its own.

What is this Backviper site that you speak of ? How do you use it ?

About Kelly's Korner, I don't know how to script windows, so I couldn't be
of any help here.
_____________________________
"Mac" wrote:

> Part of the problem is that Vista tends to err on the side of ease-of-use
> for the less than average home user and has more things running than may be
> needed. This is what makes it the market leader for home users...
>
> I've trimmed my services after reviewing blackviper's longstanding useful
> site, and I keep an eye on which services never get started, or start
> manually.
>
> I've run msconfig to regulate startup programs. I check event viewer to see
> if there are any regular deficiencies to be corrected. I've disabled UAC,
> and Superfetch (for the moment).
>
> This is all fine for me, as I (hopefully) know enough to tinker around and
> if required set things back to "normal". Most folks don't want to or more
> likely are worried they will create a mess, or worse.
>
> Any automated assistant to "improve" Vista would have to be very
> comprehensive in its reach and therefore complex. Any problems it would
> create (or be seen to create) would get it slated. The profit incentive is
> not there either.
>
> I recall the Kelly's Korner had a lot of useful scripts for XP - I'm sure a
> set of routines to tune Vista could be packaged, but who would take
> responsibility for it?
>
> "Paul" <Paul@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:F40F9066-20FF-4C4B-B464-8C3B68F6786A@microsoft.com...
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > I have an idea that I think would really help improve Vista security. At
> > the same time, it would make Vista run faster and take up less space, and
> > it
> > would make things more difficult for malicious hackers.
> >
> > Could someone tell me the flaw in this thinking ?
> >
> > Create an application called "Customize Windows" which presents to the
> > user
> > a list of yes/no questions. It would look something like this:
> >
> > "Will you use a tablet PC? â–¡ Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you use a mobile PC? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you be on a company network ? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you use an ISP? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you be using Bluetooth? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you be working with video? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > "Will you use remote connections? â–¡Y â–¡N"
> > " etc. ..."
> >
> > After the user has made his/her selections, Vista will go and turn-off
> > /disable all the tasks, processes, and services that are associated with
> > those things that the user will not be using.
> >
> > I know there is already a "turn windows features on/off" but the features
> > have very technical names that are hard to understand.
> >
> > If a user changes his/her mind, (s)he can go back into "Customize
> > Windows",
> > make the changes, and the application can automatically reinstate the
> > relevant processes, services, and tasks. Also, if the user later installs
> > an
> > application that needs a disabled process, task, or service, the
> > application
> > can put up a window that reminds the user to change this-or-that in
> > "customize windows".
> >
> > The benefit here is that Vista will not have unused processes, tasks, and
> > services sitting around taking up space and processing power. Bugs in
> > unused
> > processes and services (no program is perfect) can be taken advantage of
> > by a
> > malicious hacker. Vista will run faster and it put a big dent in the
> > complaint of some people that Vista is "bloated fatware" because it will
> > be
> > running fewer services, tasks, and processes.
> >
> > I thought it would be a good thing to share. What do you think ?
>
>

Blackviper's Vista site is here - you need to go through your services and
cross check against the list...

www.blackviper.com/WinVista/servicecfg.htm

"Paul" <Paul@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0F4C1422-094E-4E65-B6DC-EDFF4F2B978D@microsoft.com...
>I do this as well. A program like the "customize windows" that I described
> below probably would be complex and introduce some overhead of its own.
>
> What is this Backviper site that you speak of ? How do you use it ?
>
> About Kelly's Korner, I don't know how to script windows, so I couldn't
> be
> of any help here.
> _____________________________
> "Mac" wrote:
>
>> Part of the problem is that Vista tends to err on the side of ease-of-use
>> for the less than average home user and has more things running than may
>> be
>> needed. This is what makes it the market leader for home users...
>>
>> I've trimmed my services after reviewing blackviper's longstanding useful
>> site, and I keep an eye on which services never get started, or start
>> manually.
>>
>> I've run msconfig to regulate startup programs. I check event viewer to
>> see
>> if there are any regular deficiencies to be corrected. I've disabled UAC,
>> and Superfetch (for the moment).
>>
>> This is all fine for me, as I (hopefully) know enough to tinker around
>> and
>> if required set things back to "normal". Most folks don't want to or more
>> likely are worried they will create a mess, or worse.
>>
>> Any automated assistant to "improve" Vista would have to be very
>> comprehensive in its reach and therefore complex. Any problems it would
>> create (or be seen to create) would get it slated. The profit incentive
>> is
>> not there either.
>>
>> I recall the Kelly's Korner had a lot of useful scripts for XP - I'm sure
>> a
>> set of routines to tune Vista could be packaged, but who would take
>> responsibility for it?
>>
>> "Paul" <Paul@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:F40F9066-20FF-4C4B-B464-8C3B68F6786A@microsoft.com...
>> > Hello everyone,
>> >
>> > I have an idea that I think would really help improve Vista security.
>> > At
>> > the same time, it would make Vista run faster and take up less space,
>> > and
>> > it
>> > would make things more difficult for malicious hackers.
>> >
>> > Could someone tell me the flaw in this thinking ?
>> >
>> > Create an application called "Customize Windows" which presents to the
>> > user
>> > a list of yes/no questions. It would look something like this:
>> >
>> > "Will you use a tablet PC? â–¡ Y â–¡N"
>> > "Will you use a mobile PC? â–¡Y â–¡N"
>> > "Will you be on a company network ? â–¡Y â–¡N"
>> > "Will you use an ISP? â–¡Y â–¡N"
>> > "Will you be using Bluetooth? â–¡Y â–¡N"
>> > "Will you be working with video? â–¡Y â–¡N"
>> > "Will you use remote connections? â–¡Y â–¡N"
>> > " etc. ..."
>> >
>> > After the user has made his/her selections, Vista will go and turn-off
>> > /disable all the tasks, processes, and services that are associated
>> > with
>> > those things that the user will not be using.
>> >
>> > I know there is already a "turn windows features on/off" but the
>> > features
>> > have very technical names that are hard to understand.
>> >
>> > If a user changes his/her mind, (s)he can go back into "Customize
>> > Windows",
>> > make the changes, and the application can automatically reinstate the
>> > relevant processes, services, and tasks. Also, if the user later
>> > installs
>> > an
>> > application that needs a disabled process, task, or service, the
>> > application
>> > can put up a window that reminds the user to change this-or-that in
>> > "customize windows".
>> >
>> > The benefit here is that Vista will not have unused processes, tasks,
>> > and
>> > services sitting around taking up space and processing power. Bugs in
>> > unused
>> > processes and services (no program is perfect) can be taken advantage
>> > of
>> > by a
>> > malicious hacker. Vista will run faster and it put a big dent in the
>> > complaint of some people that Vista is "bloated fatware" because it
>> > will
>> > be
>> > running fewer services, tasks, and processes.
>> >
>> > I thought it would be a good thing to share. What do you think ?
>>
>>