SOFTWARE: Autoruns From Microsoft

There are more than a few people who think I think Microsoft makes dreadful software and its products should be avoided like the plague. Right and wrong!

Truth be told, Microsoft makes a LOT of dreadful software. Vista should not be allowed on any computer you own, unless you have a graduate degree in geekdom. It simply does not work, unless installed and watched over by somebody who knows the system it's installed on AND the operating system. There are other programs Microsoft has foisted on the world that SHOULD be the subject of a class-action suit, Internet Explorer, Outlook, etc...

But Microsoft DOES produce useful software. Windows 2000 is still solid and Windows XP is mostly pretty good. Microsoft Office is more pro than con, although the redesign of the latest Office's interface takes a fair bit of getting used to. There are other bits and pieces that earn claim (and some, disclaim). And I use a LOT of Microsoft software daily. I jut believe in getting best of breed whereever possible and Microsoft doesn't fit the label as often as it should.

One of the good ideas the folks at MS had last year was to employ Mark Russinovich. Mark was the guy who found Sony's infamous root kit on its music CDs and started the world on the path of scorning Sony for the incompetent, privacy-invading firm that it's now known as. Mark has always been a hacker par excellence and has published MANY little programs that delve into the innards of Windows. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Mark knew more about the inner workings of Windows than anybody then currently in the employ of Microsoft.

Amongst the many gems Mark published was Autoruns. This Startup Control Panel (Mike Lin's marvelous little program) on steroids can do LOTS of things. One of the things it can do, that Startup Control Panel can't, is to show you a list of BHO's for your Internet Explorer. BHO, stands for Binary Helper Object, and these little programlets are supposed to make your Internet Explorer work better.

Like all good intentions, some hellish twits have discovered they can help THEMSELVES to lots of information on your computer by installing BHO's. Many of the virus and scumware detectors out there do NOT detect BHO's. Mostly, because you have to be RUNNING Internet Explorer at the time for them to do anything. And most people don't run IE while scanning their computer.

Autoruns will list BHO's on your computer. I was actually surprised to find that I had a BHO installed from a magazine service I haven't used for more than a year, Newstand. Checking the Internet Explorer tab of Autoruns showed me a list of four that I had, none of which I knew I had. There were hooks for two different Adobe helper objects, the Newstand BHO and one for Java. Getting rid of the Newstand one probably pared my startup time by a thousandth of a second. I probably saved the equivalent in on-line time. Maybe even a second. Of course, I only IE about twice a month. What I DID accomplish is lessen the chance that some OTHER BHO might get into a conflict with the Newstand BHO and bring my web-browsing experience to a complete halt.

Now, THAT is worth taking the time to run Autoruns. Warning, it's a bit technical and you might be advised to have your local geek/nice neighbour over when you run it. But the effort will be worth while.

You can get Autoruns at the Sysinternals subsite at Microsoft.