warning registry activity

[Guest Kaja]

Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would not

suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed up my

computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and fixing

problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and destroy. I used

these programs and they messed up my computer bad. The registry is basically

a database of files and has nothing to do with speed I learned later.

Microsoft reccomends only advanced users alter it and MS has their own

editing program for advanced users. Windows has buil in tools to speed up

your computer which are reliable and safe. See this article:

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx

Hope this helps someone else.

Kaja

[Guest Elmo]

Re: warning registry activity

 

Kaja wrote:

> Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would not

> suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed up my

> computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and fixing

> problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and destroy. I used

> these programs and they messed up my computer bad. The registry is basically

> a database of files and has nothing to do with speed I learned later.

> Microsoft recommends only advanced users alter it and MS has their own

> editing program for advanced users. Windows has built-in tools to speed up

> your computer which are reliable and safe. See this article:

> http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx

> Hope this helps someone else.

> Kaja

 

It's doubtful SpyBot S&D was the cause; its function is to scan for

spyware and remove, inoculate you to prevent some spyware, and it even

finds some other malware such as an occasional virus or the like.

 

--

Joe =o)

[Guest MowGreen [MVP]]

Re: warning registry activity

 

Elmo wrote:

> Kaja wrote:

>

>>Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would not

>>suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed up my

>>computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and fixing

>>problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and destroy. I used

>>these programs and they messed up my computer bad. The registry is basically

>>a database of files and has nothing to do with speed I learned later.

>>Microsoft recommends only advanced users alter it and MS has their own

>>editing program for advanced users. Windows has built-in tools to speed up

>>your computer which are reliable and safe. See this article:

>>http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx

>>Hope this helps someone else.

>>Kaja

>

>

> It's doubtful SpyBot S&D was the cause; its function is to scan for

> spyware and remove, inoculate you to prevent some spyware, and it even

> finds some other malware such as an occasional virus or the like.

>

 

That's IF Spybot was only used to remove malwares. There are other

functions of it that can lead to issues in the hands of a novice.

Such as Process List, System Internals [reg checker], and/or System Startup.

 

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2008]

===============

*-343-* FDNY

Never Forgotten

===============

[Guest Bruce Chambers]

Re: warning registry activity

 

Kaja wrote:

> Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would not

> suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed up my

> computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and fixing

> problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and destroy. I used

> these programs and they messed up my computer bad.

 

 

I've no doubt that all of your troubles can be laid at the feet of

RegCure. No registry "cleaner" does anything useful, and they all carry

a risk of causing damage, as you've learned, first-hand.

 

However, it's highly unlikely (though admittedly not impossible) that

SpyBot Search & Destroy did any damage.

 

 

 

 

--

 

Bruce Chambers

 

Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

 

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

 

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

 

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot

[Guest Gary S. Terhune]

Re: warning registry activity

 

Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of SpyBot

now has a registry cleaner and some other tools that cause me concern (I'd

never use them), besides Tea-Timer (a drag on performance), SDHelper and

Immunize, which I also shy away from. I install SpyBot S&D with no add-ons.

I run Spybot strictly as an on-demand scanner and use it for nothing else.

 

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

http://grystmill.com

 

"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message

news:eloanMu5IHA.3768@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> Kaja wrote:

>> Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would

>> not suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed

>> up my computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and

>> fixing problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and

>> destroy. I used these programs and they messed up my computer bad.

>

>

> I've no doubt that all of your troubles can be laid at the feet of

> RegCure. No registry "cleaner" does anything useful, and they all carry a

> risk of causing damage, as you've learned, first-hand.

>

> However, it's highly unlikely (though admittedly not impossible) that

> SpyBot Search & Destroy did any damage.

>

>

>

>

> --

>

> Bruce Chambers

>

> Help us help you:

> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

>

> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

>

> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

>

> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand

> Russell

>

> The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

> killed a great many philosophers.

> ~ Denis Diderot

[Guest Lil' Dave]

Re: warning registry activity

 

Whether you are seasoned veteran at registry mods, or, a newbie letting some

registry mod program do its thing, you have to have full backup of the OS

partition before proceeding. Many people use an image backup application

for the backup. Along with that, some registry mods may not be visible for

sometime for one reason or the other. In that case, you need the image

backup at the time, AND, any changes of data and settings since that point.

That's when it get's hairy at the least. For that reason, I don't recommend

registry mod/cleaning programs.

 

--

Dave

 

Bailout: Friend, relative, business acquaintance

paying a sum to get the accused

out of jail until court is ready to proceed.

 

Bailout: U.S. taxpayers paying a sum of

money for some critical business failure

that was fleecing the taxpayer to begin

with.

Somehow, the word "bailout" seems

very different.

"Kaja" <Kaja@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:0FF22B70-4880-446F-8AA1-14C4687A4ABA@microsoft.com...

> Hi, recently I made a big mistake and wanted to tell others so they would

> not

> suffer the same fate I did. I saw programs saying they could speed up my

> computer and optimize performance by checking the registry and fixing

> problems. Programs such as Reg Cure and Spy Bot search and destroy. I

> used

> these programs and they messed up my computer bad. The registry is

> basically

> a database of files and has nothing to do with speed I learned later.

> Microsoft reccomends only advanced users alter it and MS has their own

> editing program for advanced users. Windows has buil in tools to speed up

> your computer which are reliable and safe. See this article:

> http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/getstarted/speed.mspx

> Hope this helps someone else.

> Kaja

>

[Guest Bruce Chambers]

Re: warning registry activity

 

Gary S. Terhune wrote:

> Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of SpyBot

> now has a registry cleaner .....

 

 

Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending

its use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have just

lost all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

Bruce Chambers

 

Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

 

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

 

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

 

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot

[Guest Ron Badour]

Re: warning registry activity

 

Bruce and Gary,

 

I don't think it is a registry cleaner per se. One of the elements that can

be optionally installed is the Tea Timer and it gives a choice on whether or

not to allow registry changes. See the FAQ here:

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/faq/33.html

 

Like Gary, I don't like either feature and just use malware detection. I

found the SDhelper option was blocking a user from using the Pogo game site

and this was not at all obvious when I first started looking into the

problem. I stumbled upon the answer after troubleshooting for about an

hour. Pogo had no info on it so I sent them an email about the solution.

--

Regards

 

Ron Badour

MS MVP

Windows Desktop Experience

 

 

"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message

news:%23bjCMr65IHA.4988@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Gary S. Terhune wrote:

>> Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of

>> SpyBot now has a registry cleaner .....

>

>

> Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending its

> use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have just lost

> all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".

>

>

>

>

>

> --

>

> Bruce Chambers

>

> Help us help you:

> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

>

> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

>

> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

>

> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand

> Russell

>

> The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

> killed a great many philosophers.

> ~ Denis Diderot

[Guest Gary S. Terhune]

Re: warning registry activity

 

Set it for Advanced Mode, a set of menus will appear at far bottom left. In

Tools, it's called System Internals. Limited functions compared to most

Registry Cleaners, and selecting only certain items is a PITA, but it does

allow you to Export the REG keys before fixing.

 

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

http://grystmill.com

 

"Ron Badour" <Sorry@NoAddressBuddy.com> wrote in message

news:%23JZ7ly75IHA.4596@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> Bruce and Gary,

>

> I don't think it is a registry cleaner per se. One of the elements that

> can be optionally installed is the Tea Timer and it gives a choice on

> whether or not to allow registry changes. See the FAQ here:

> http://www.safer-networking.org/en/faq/33.html

>

> Like Gary, I don't like either feature and just use malware detection. I

> found the SDhelper option was blocking a user from using the Pogo game

> site and this was not at all obvious when I first started looking into the

> problem. I stumbled upon the answer after troubleshooting for about an

> hour. Pogo had no info on it so I sent them an email about the solution.

> --

> Regards

>

> Ron Badour

> MS MVP

> Windows Desktop Experience

>

>

> "Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message

> news:%23bjCMr65IHA.4988@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>> Gary S. Terhune wrote:

>>> Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of

>>> SpyBot now has a registry cleaner .....

>>

>>

>> Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending its

>> use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have just lost

>> all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> --

>>

>> Bruce Chambers

>>

>> Help us help you:

>> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

>>

>> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

>>

>> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

>> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

>>

>> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand

>> Russell

>>

>> The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

>> killed a great many philosophers.

>> ~ Denis Diderot

>

>

[Guest Twayne]

OT Re: warning registry activity

 

OT Re: warning registry activity

 

> Gary S. Terhune wrote:

>> Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of

>> SpyBot now has a registry cleaner .....

>

>

> Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending

> its use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have

> just lost all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".

 

lol, boy, does that say a lot about you! Based on one person's

interpretation of something, without even checking it yourself, you ban

something and say it lost all credibility (meaning with YOU, but you

left that out).

Talk about loss of credibility! Your closed mind is much easier to

understand in this new light; you're strictly a follower!

 

How do you stand it, knowing that your registry is constantly being

written to, and organized by, just simple use of your computer? Can I

assume you have your registry files all set for read-only? I don't

think so! You should grab a registry monitor and watch your registry at

work someday - odds are great you'll be very surprised.

I'd suggest you must use nothing but VB6 apps (which still write to

the registry, just much less) but then I see you use MOZ FF and a

couple others too, so ... even FF writes to the registry for its

location id.

 

What a chowderhead

[Guest Ken Blake, MVP]

Re: warning registry activity

 

On Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:16:29 -0700, "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote:

> Set it for Advanced Mode, a set of menus will appear at far bottom left. In

> Tools, it's called System Internals. Limited functions compared to most

> Registry Cleaners, and selecting only certain items is a PITA, but it does

> allow you to Export the REG keys before fixing.

 

 

Interesting. I hadn't noticed that before. Thanks for pointing it out.

> "Ron Badour" <Sorry@NoAddressBuddy.com> wrote in message

> news:%23JZ7ly75IHA.4596@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> > Bruce and Gary,

> >

> > I don't think it is a registry cleaner per se. One of the elements that

> > can be optionally installed is the Tea Timer and it gives a choice on

> > whether or not to allow registry changes. See the FAQ here:

> > http://www.safer-networking.org/en/faq/33.html

> >

> > Like Gary, I don't like either feature and just use malware detection. I

> > found the SDhelper option was blocking a user from using the Pogo game

> > site and this was not at all obvious when I first started looking into the

> > problem. I stumbled upon the answer after troubleshooting for about an

> > hour. Pogo had no info on it so I sent them an email about the solution.

> > --

> > Regards

> >

> > Ron Badour

> > MS MVP

> > Windows Desktop Experience

> >

> >

> > "Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message

> > news:%23bjCMr65IHA.4988@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> >> Gary S. Terhune wrote:

> >>> Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of

> >>> SpyBot now has a registry cleaner .....

> >>

> >>

> >> Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending its

> >> use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have just lost

> >> all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >> --

> >>

> >> Bruce Chambers

> >>

> >> Help us help you:

> >> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

> >>

> >> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

> >>

> >> They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

> >> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

> >>

> >> Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand

> >> Russell

> >>

> >> The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

> >> killed a great many philosophers.

> >> ~ Denis Diderot

> >

> >

>

 

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

Please Reply to the Newsgroup

[Guest Gary S. Terhune]

Re: OT Re: warning registry activity

 

Re: OT Re: warning registry activity

 

Anyone who has ever had to fix or even rebuild a computer after their client

tried some various Registry Cleaner, etc., based upon advertising on the

internet, knows what dangerous (and potentially very expensive) crap they

are. You, of course, are a total idiot, so you know nothing.

 

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

http://grystmill.com

 

"Twayne" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote in message

news:eHbRJ0B6IHA.5052@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>> Gary S. Terhune wrote:

>>> Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of

>>> SpyBot now has a registry cleaner .....

>>

>>

>> Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending

>> its use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have

>> just lost all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".

>

> lol, boy, does that say a lot about you! Based on one person's

> interpretation of something, without even checking it yourself, you ban

> something and say it lost all credibility (meaning with YOU, but you left

> that out).

> Talk about loss of credibility! Your closed mind is much easier to

> understand in this new light; you're strictly a follower!

>

> How do you stand it, knowing that your registry is constantly being

> written to, and organized by, just simple use of your computer? Can I

> assume you have your registry files all set for read-only? I don't think

> so! You should grab a registry monitor and watch your registry at work

> someday - odds are great you'll be very surprised.

> I'd suggest you must use nothing but VB6 apps (which still write to the

> registry, just much less) but then I see you use MOZ FF and a couple

> others too, so ... even FF writes to the registry for its location id.

>

> What a chowderhead

>

>

[Guest Bruce Chambers]

Re: OT Re: warning registry activity

 

Re: OT Re: warning registry activity

 

Twayne wrote:

>> Gary S. Terhune wrote:

>>> Not sure if I just never saw them before, but the latest version of

>>> SpyBot now has a registry cleaner .....

>>

>> Thanks for the update, Gary. I guess I'll have to stop recommending

>> its use, even for its original, intended purpose. The makers have

>> just lost all credibility by including a registry "cleaner.".

>

> lol, boy, does that say a lot about you! Based on one person's

> interpretation of something,....

 

 

Ah! But that "one person" is someone I've met, and whose technical

experience and knowledge, which I've come to respect over the years, has

been proven, time and time again. His assessments can be trusted.

 

> ... without even checking it yourself,

 

 

Who said I didn't check it out for myself? Oh, that's right, you said

it. Unfortunately, you've already amply demonstrated exactly how

tenuous your grasp of reality is.

 

> you ban

> something ....

 

 

I "banned" nothing. I said I would stop recommending it. Reading

comprehension isn't one of your strong suits, is it?

 

> and say it lost all credibility (meaning with YOU, but you

> left that out).

 

I "left it out" because to include it would have been redundant. Why

state the obvious? I mean, it's not like I'm posting for _your_ benefit.

 

> Talk about loss of credibility! Your closed mind is much easier to

> understand in this new light; you're strictly a follower!

>

 

 

Ah! Of course. Your usual technical discussion: resort immediately to

name-calling.

 

> How do you stand it, knowing that your registry is constantly being

> written to, and organized by, just simple use of your computer?

 

 

Er...., Hello? That's what it's designed to do. So what?

 

> Can I

> assume you have your registry files all set for read-only? I don't

> think so!

 

 

 

You can assume anything you like, particularly since you seem unusually

adverse to facts and/or actual knowledge.

 

> You should grab a registry monitor and watch your registry at

> work someday - odds are great you'll be very surprised.

 

 

Hardly.

 

 

--

 

Bruce Chambers

 

Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

 

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

 

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

 

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot

[Guest Gary S. Terhune]

Re: OT Re: warning registry activity

 

Re: OT Re: warning registry activity

 

I didn't really read the previous. The below is, well.....

ROTFLMAOPIMP!!!!!!

 

Owwwww!!! It hurts my head! How can anyone that stupid even FIND the

newsgroups?

 

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

http://grystmill.com

 

"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote in message

news:eI6X6GH6IHA.3696@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Twayne wrote:

<snip>>

>> How do you stand it, knowing that your registry is constantly being

>> written to, and organized by, just simple use of your computer?

>

>

> Er...., Hello? That's what it's designed to do. So what?

>

>

>> Can I assume you have your registry files all set for read-only? I don't

>> think so!

>

>

>

> You can assume anything you like, particularly since you seem unusually

> adverse to facts and/or actual knowledge.

>

>

>> You should grab a registry monitor and watch your registry at work

>> someday - odds are great you'll be very surprised.

>

>

> Hardly.