XP-Antispy
Posted by: Tim Tibbetts on: 11/17/2003 12:00 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Windows has some well known "features" that are not needed and, when disabled, can save you bandwidth, help Windows run better, protect your privacy and be more secure. If you know your way around XP, you can spend a lot of time disabling some of these features, or you can download a tool such as XP-Antispy and save yourself some time. If you do not know about these features, then you'll need a tool that can both explain and deactivate them for you. XP-Antispy might just be what you need.
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[thumb]xpantispy2.jpg[/thumb] [thumb]xpantispy1.jpg[/thumb]
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The XP-Antispy install routine is quite simple requiring you to just hit next a couple of times. The install options are limited to creating a program group, quick launch icon and folder in which to install. The program shows you what is already deactivated with a bright green check mark and a red exclamation point is for items that can be, but are not deactivated. Lining your mouse over any item gives an excellent explanation of what this item is and whether it should be safe to deactivate or not. There is an option to choose recommended settings, but there are not a lot of items and it is a better idea to spend 15 minutes reading what each item is, deciding if you need it or not and manually decide what to deactivate. This way, any features you have become used to will still be there and you can easily uncheck anything you find you miss later. I could not find anything in the list that would crash my machine, but anything you change that causes a problem can easily be changed back later with the "reset system state" option that restores you to Windows defaults.
All in all XP-Antispy is a handy tool making it easy to disable these functions without manually going through the control panel, or opening programs one at a time. Many of the items you can disable are considered by the geeky to be items that should be disabled right away on a fresh install of Windows XP. All in all, in the end, XP-Antispy is a great timesaver and teacher and you sure can't beat the price or peace of mind!
Score: <img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star.gif"><img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star.gif"><img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star.gif"><img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star.gif"><img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star_half.gif"> (4.5/5 Stars)
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[thumb]xpantispy2.jpg[/thumb] [thumb]xpantispy1.jpg[/thumb]
</center>
The XP-Antispy install routine is quite simple requiring you to just hit next a couple of times. The install options are limited to creating a program group, quick launch icon and folder in which to install. The program shows you what is already deactivated with a bright green check mark and a red exclamation point is for items that can be, but are not deactivated. Lining your mouse over any item gives an excellent explanation of what this item is and whether it should be safe to deactivate or not. There is an option to choose recommended settings, but there are not a lot of items and it is a better idea to spend 15 minutes reading what each item is, deciding if you need it or not and manually decide what to deactivate. This way, any features you have become used to will still be there and you can easily uncheck anything you find you miss later. I could not find anything in the list that would crash my machine, but anything you change that causes a problem can easily be changed back later with the "reset system state" option that restores you to Windows defaults.
All in all XP-Antispy is a handy tool making it easy to disable these functions without manually going through the control panel, or opening programs one at a time. Many of the items you can disable are considered by the geeky to be items that should be disabled right away on a fresh install of Windows XP. All in all, in the end, XP-Antispy is a great timesaver and teacher and you sure can't beat the price or peace of mind!
Score: <img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star.gif"><img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star.gif"><img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star.gif"><img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star.gif"><img src="http://www.majorgeeks.com/images/review/star_half.gif"> (4.5/5 Stars)
