Hi forum members,
Through binding contracts Microsoft has made Windows XP the prevailing OS. But it is far from optimal. FixMyXP.com tries to help you to run XP as optimal as possible. You find a lot of tweak there, there known as “fixes”, there is a variety of thing from security related tips to handy lists with run commands.
Go here: http://www.fixmyxp.com/
greets,
polonus
Thanks, polonus … that link might be handy for many of us. 
There is almost nothing on this site. Very little to do with optimizing anything.
I have to agree with Mastertech on this one.And the site doesn’t look finished to me.
Hello ReVaN and Mastertech,
Well sometimes one has to come back on one’s tracks. I listed the link here because it was presented as very important information through one of the largest ISP of Holland, planet.nl. Well normally you can trust such a source.
This proofs all the more, that there is a gigantic load of misinformation, semi-truths and misrepresentation on the Net.
But I consider this good in such a way thatwe can now validate this info for what it is worth, else we would not have known, wouldn’t we, guys? At the end of the thread we have the information we really need to have. Thanks folks.
polonus
Yes i understand Polonus, just next time check out the site before you recommend it OK 
For those of us who know a lot about XP and computers in general, the site may not have much to offer.
But, for those who know little and/or are new to computing, there is some info on that site that can be helpful to such people.
Exactly, exactly what I wanted to point out… there are some really nice explanations on how to do some “little” things in your OS, and some people are still not that computer literate… we have to think about them as well, so I believe the site Polonus gave us a link for is quite good for some starters.
Cheers !
I have to say that the info on Mastertech’s site is pretty good when it comes to optimization.
Here is one optimize guide i really like http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htm
Now i have to say that when it comes to tweaking win xp there are alot of different opinions on which tweaks are good and which are not…
Also i would suggest you make a good backup to your system’s before doing any tweaking and if you are like me benchmark before and after you apply the tweaks so you can see if you gained anything with the tweaks
Cheers
Mikey
Hi Sasza & Miha,
Windows can be made a quite secure environment, but there are a few areas where Windows is known to be vulnerable, and that has to be placed before users.
Uneducated users. Many users do not understand nor care about security issues associated with the system. For instance AV killing cannot be accomplished by a kill script if a user is without full user rights, in that case the AV cannot be shut down. Notwithstanding this admins (part-time admins) give their users local domain privileges - a dangerous and frustratingly persisting procedure.
Windows as a commercial product always demanded backward compatibility with older, and less secure versions. Changing features brought new security issues (NTFS brought ADS as a means of malware injection)
Windows has poor auditing tools in general.
Size and complexity of the software makes it difficult to oversee all the software involved
Insecure Installation. Windows is known to have little or no default security.
These points must be brought home to the general public to make Windows a much safer product to work with…
polonus
What are you talking about poor auditing tools? Do you know how to use Event Viewer or configured it for that matter?
The limited user account stuff is not the problem. It is the lack of security updates applied, no AV ect…
Windows XP SP2 has very good default security.
But that doesn’t change the fact this post is labeled “Run XP as Optimally as Possible” and the site includes next to no information about that.
Hi Mastertech,
I am certified administring MS Windows NT4.0 and Core Technologies, I was passing “passsword” through the event viewer, when maybe you had not even heard of it. ADses mormally are invisable to built-in Windows directory tools.
If you netcat Windows, how you audit that?. Everything I say here in this posting is documented fact, see here about the auditing:
http://www.radsoft.net/products/tours/xpt/007.html.
OK I agree with the strong points of Windows, but why have not you ever mentioned the weak sites of this OS… It is almost like you have assets in it. Then moreover why are we here now confronted with a remainder of the eighties, which is now called an exploit all of a sudden as it was a feature that was kept, while there was no use for it? Mastertech, I agree with you on the points where you are right, but you must be fair also, and be open to critical sounds when they are fairly brought forward.
polonus
NT 4.0? You are still using that? :o
What weak sides of the OS? That people don’t apply security patches and install AV and keep it updated? Those are the real problems.
Hi Mastertech,
No naturally I am not using NT 4.0. I know well enough that it is archaic now,but I was trained while it was rolled out. My sources for what I said can be found here: http://www.informit.com/guides/content.asp?g=security&seqNum=16&rl=1
At least will you agree with me that uneducated users are a threat to the security of Windows, there are milions of them all over the place. And giving someone on the workfloor with a Windows XP Professional SP2 machine patched fully admin rights is not a good thing security wise, still some admins do this habitually. To say that you run no risks is just not true.
Have you ever really compared stron points of Unix to strong points of Windows, as it is difficult to compare apples and pears? I was trained with half being Windows adepts and half Unix-folks with years and years of practice.
polonus
No reputable IE department is going to give all end users full domain admin rights. I’m talking about home users.
Linux is not practical and thus is not widely used on the desktop.
The problem is that people don’t know how to use it, it is more practical than windows on any day if you know how to use it
Better if you have wrote Linus wasn’t and not is.
Some kind of things are changing and the Linux future does not seem that bad. Maybe it won’t find a monopolial market as Windows but, who knows, there will be always a group of people that love to learn and test different things.
I won’t say Linux is not practical… Is Windows practical? Do you really think it is? Really?
It is not practical for many reasons. Too many builds are confusing for people. No standardization of applications to run on all builds, poor driver support, driver installation is not a simple as windows. Applications especially gaming is poor in Linux.
When you have to explain to somebody how to do something they can simply click on in Windows, it is not practical.
Besides, I thought it’s an OS that’s safer than Windows : ;D At least that’s what they said… and we see more and more companies releasing antiviruses fro Linux… even avast! is ready for Linux.
Linux practical ? I wouldn’t say so… anything but practical.
Linux Safer?
US-CERT Cyber Security Bulletin 2005 Summary
There were 5198 reported vulnerabilities: 812 Windows operating system vulnerabilities; 2328 Unix/Linux operating vulnerabilities; and 2058 Multiple operating system vulnerabilities.