Ask Leo!: Windows Configuration

How do I make sure that Windows is up-to-date?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:00:00 -08:00

How do I make sure that Windows is up-to-date?

]]> It seems like every week there's news about some newly discovered vulnerability or bug fix in Windows. And of course the stories tell us that we should all rush out and install the fixes immediately or the world will come to and end.

Or something like that.

In fact, Microsoft does announce updates weekly. With that rapid a rate, how should you stay on top of things and make sure that your system is up to date?

There are several options.

How do I make system tray icons go away permanently?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:11:02 -08:00

How can I permanently get rid of Systray Icons that get put there when software is installed? MSCONFIG sometimes gets rid of them until the first time you run the software, then it's back again. Just takes up room in the background.

]]> Oh how I wish I had an easy answer for you.

Well, I do. The easy answer is: you can't.

Not easily.

However, you can make things better, but it's a somewhat complicated process.

Is autorun really that evil, and if so, how do I turn autorun off?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:48:19 -08:00

There's been a rash of infections in recent months that can be traced back to infected USB or other removable devices being used to transmit malware from one machine to another. The culprit is autorun. Even if you think you have it turned off, I'm betting you don't have it turned off - not completely anyway.

Autorun (or autoplay, as it's sometimes known as or confused with), is a very convenient feature of Windows that, as its name implies, allows things to happen "automatically" when you insert a removable device such as a CD-ROM, USB Memory stick or attach a device like a digital camera.

And yes, absolutely, it's evil, and should be turned off completely as soon as you possibly can do so.

The reason is very, very simple: autorun can be seriously abused by viruses and other forms of malware.

How do I get System Restore to take up less space?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:34:51 -08:00

Is there anyway to make System Restore use less space if we would like to have the benefit of a restore, but not use up all our space? I just saved half my hard drive by taking System Restore off.

]]> Yes, we can adjust the amount of disk space that System Restore will use.

But that adjustment comes at a price.

How do I get Windows Explorer to show folder names in its taskbar buttons?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:54:22 -08:00

I just got a new computer.

On the old one, the taskbar shows open folders correctly: "Folder Name". It makes it easy to see which one you want to click on to get the desired folder up front.

On the new computer, the tab on the taskbar shows the folder name as "C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Desktop\Folder Name" -- and since all that doesn't FIT on the little tab, they ALL read "C:\Docume...", which means they're quite useless labels. How do I get it to just show the end folder name?

]]> It's actually another of Windows buried and somewhat obscure settings.

In fact, I didn't even connect what this setting was for until I got this question.