Protecting Against Spyware In Vista Part VII

In the previous installment of this article, you learned about some of the additional tools and options included with Spybot-S&D. In this final installment, we will look at Spybot-S&D’s System Startup menu, how to view a report, and the Spybot-S&D Immunization function.

The System Startup menu lists all programs that are started when Windows is started. This menu allows the user to change the path to a Startup program, or change the command used to execute the program. You can also delete any program from Startup or insert a program to be started with Windows.

To view any item in the System Startup list, select the item, and click on the info button at the top of the System Startup screen. To disable a program run at startup, or to allow a disabled program in this list to start with Windows, select the program and click on the Toggle button at the top of the screen. To change the path to a program run at startup, or to change the command options run with the program, select the program from the System Startup list, and click on the Change button at the top of the screen.

One good feature of this menu is the ability to add and configure new startup programs. To add a new program to the Startup list, click on the Insert button at the top of the screen. Make the program available to All Users On Startup, or only to the Present User. Select how the program will be run. There are three selections available:

• Run the program as a normal program
• Run the program as a service
• Create an autostart group link

Provide a name for the registry entry and select the path to the executable file. A new entry with the value you enter will be added to the list of programs run at System Startup.

The View Report menu is used to generate a report of your system configuration, including the configuration used for Spybot-S&D. The results from a Spybot-S&D scan can also be included with this report.

The Spybot-S&D Immunization Function is controlled through the Spybot-S&D tab. It provides four very useful functions:

• Permanently immunizing Internet Explorer from spyware
• Preventing Internet Explorer from downloading known spyware installers
• Preventing spyware from making changes to Internet Explorer configuration
• Locking the Hosts File

To provide immunity for your browser and Hosts File, click on the icon labeled Immunize under the Spybot-S&D tab. In the first configuration panel, titled Permanent Internet Explorer Immunity, click on the Immunize button to immunize Internet Explorer. The next panel is labeled Percent Running Bad Download Blocker For Inter-checkboxes available to lock the Hosts File and to net Explorer. In the drop-down list, select Block All prevent spyware from reconfiguring Internet Bad Pages Silently. Click on Install. Explorer when immunization is activated.

In the third panel, labeled Recommended Miscellaneous Protections, click in each of the three check boxes available to lock the hosts file and to prevent spyware from reconfiguring Internet Explorer when immunization is activated. Spybot-S&D blocks all entries that are in its database.