essential XP SP2 & vista tweaks?

[invictius]

XP: Disabling that auto-update (nagging you that you don't have a/v, firewall etc), the various IE nags (getting rid of the activex warning for good, etc), windows firewall...

Vista: Disabling UAC, autorun, also the nagging about not having a/v

Any further suggestions to make both OS's less troublesome are most welcome!

 

[redduc900]

XP: Disabling that auto-update (nagging you that you don't have a/v, firewall etc), the various IE nags (getting rid of the activex warning for good, etc), windows firewall...

Vista: Disabling UAC, autorun, also the nagging about not having a/v

Are you wanting to know how to disable these things, or are you only interested in knowing what else can be done "tweak"-wise besides what you listed?

 

[invictius]

Are you wanting to know how to disable these things, or are you only interested in knowing what else can be done "tweak"-wise besides what you listed?

Both - done the vista tweaks a while ago, a long while ago - hence I don't remember these ones - as for xp, I on my laptop, so it's been a while since I've reformatted there, too.

 

[redduc900]

XP:

- Disabling that auto-update (nagging you that you don't have a/v, firewall etc
Disabling the Service is one option, another is to just disable the AV and Firewall alerts from within the Security Center (Start | Run | Type wscui.cpl, and click OK) | Click the "Change the way Security Center alerts me" link | Uncheck "Virus Protection" and "Firewall" in the Alert Settings dialog.

- The various IE nags (getting rid of the activex warning for good, etc)
Open IE | Internet Properties | "Security" tab | Internet zone--> "Custom level" button | Downloads--> Enable "Automatic prompting for file downloads". Regarding the script warning... "Internet" zone--> Custom level" button | Scripting--> Enable "Allow websites to prompt for information using scripted windows". See also:

Disabling the Information Bar in Internet Explorer
http://www.sanx.org/tipShow.asp?index=313

- Windows firewall
The following command line will disable SP2's firewall (must be run after SP2 is installed, and at least one reboot is done)...

netsh.exe firewall set opmode mode=disable profile=all

If you want to disable the firewall service as well, run this command line (do not remove the space after start=)...

sc.exe config SharedAccess start= disabled

Vista:

- Disabling UAC
Start | Run | Type msconfig, and click OK | On the "Tools" tab highlight Disable UAC, click the "Launch" button, and reboot.

- Autorun
This can be disabled via Control Panel | AutoPlay

- Also the nagging about not having a/v
Control Panel | Security Center | "Change the way Security Center alerts me" link | Click the "Don't notify me and don't display the icon (Not recommended)" button.

 

[Roisen]

I hope this doesn't violate some board law, but:
http://www.tweakvista.com
http://www.tweakxp.com