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Microsoft has a tool called AutoRuns: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinte...s/bb963902.aspx

Could that be what you were looking for? You could also configure your Startup programs manually using the System Configuration utility: http://www.vista4beginners.com/System-Configuration-Utility

Yeah, I found that too but what I want is a tool that prevents apps from registering for startup without my consent on the spot. Thats what Mike Lin's StartupMonitor does, but apparently it doesn't work with Vista x64.

 

EDIT: I found a tool for this, it is, believe it or not, Spybot S & D. It has a Resident Scanner that warns you when an application is registering itself to run at startup ;)

I found a tool for this, it is, believe it or not, Spybot S & D. It has a Resident Scanner that warns you when an application is registering itself to run at startup

 

Yeah, if it's blocking programs from latching onto the startup menu, antispyware apps like CounterSpy do that beautifully. Plus, CounterSpy's support for Vista x64 is just superb, though it isn't free so I was reluctant to recommend it. CounterSpy automatically blocks applications (among other things) from adding themselves to the startup registry without your consent, and it's a top-notch antispyware to boot. CounterSpy V2 is a huge upgrade over previous versions, and is among the few to fully support Vista x64.

Well I don't want to just auto block it, I like a prompt so I can choose to allow it or not :P Viruses are known to register themselves at startup and keeping tabs on your startup programs helps that. But what you say makes sense to me :) However, I have to admit I haven't heard of CounterSpy before this. Maybe its because I only look at free anti spyware and not the paid kind.

CounterSpy does prompt you (that's what I meant by "without your consent"). And as much as I like free antispyware apps like Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware, they unfortunately aren't able to provide adequate protection from the ever more sophisticated malware popping up nowadays. :( However, I do use them as backup scanners in case CounterSpy happens to miss something, since it is slightly more effective at preventing infections than it is at removing them. But as anyone will tell you, it's always better to have at least two scanners since no one scanner can get them all.

Yeah, right now I have Windows Defender, Ad-aware, and Spybot installed. I find that online scanners like X-Cleaner Micro Edition and Trend Micro HouseCall pick up more malware than desktop scanners, probably because they have their definitions updated 24/7.

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