Ron Schenone

Remove Bluetooth Support – Microsoft Windows XP SP2

Posted by on Aug 26, 2008 | 2 Comments

In my other life as a tech. writer for a newspaper, I receive many different inquires about different subjects, including this recent email question. The basic of the question  is for a user who is using Microsoft Windows XP w/ SP2 who wants to turn off Bluetooth support. Why? Because they don’t use it and have been advised that it could potentially be a security hazard. Without getting into the security issues, I took a look over at the KB articles for Microsoft and found this article:

To remove Bluetooth wireless device support, follow these steps:

1.

Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.

2.

Click the Hardware tab.

3.

Click Device Manager.

4.

Expand Bluetooth Radios.

5.

Right-click each device listed under Bluetooth Radios, click Uninstall, and then click OK.

6.

Close Device Manager, and then click OK.

7.

In Windows Explorer, open the C:WindowsInf folder.

8.

Rename the Bth.inf file to Bth.inf.old.

9.

Rename the Bth.pnf file to Bth.pnf.old.

10.

Restart Windows XP SP2.

This will prevent the Microsoft Bluetooth Stack from loading. However, this does not prevent third-party Bluetooth stacks from being installed or loaded.

I am not sure if this applies to SP3, but my gut feeling is that it should, but I haven’t tried it. Have you? If you have please share your expertise with us.

Comments welcome.

Source.

  • http://www.goretsky.com/ Aryeh Goretsky

    Hello,

    My notebook computer, a Lenovo ThinkPad T61p, has a dedicated hardware switch to disable the various radios inside. I am guessing, though, that your reader does not have a similar feature on the notebook.

    If they are really concerned about the potential for a Bluetooh security incident, wouldn’t it be more secure to remove the Bluetooth radio module from the computer?

    Regards,

    Aryeh Goretsky

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Aryeh,
    Thanks for the suggestion.
    Regards, Ron