Oct 21

I find myself with the Task Manager being disabled. Malware creators like to disable Task Manager so it makes solving the problem and removing the issue difficult.

If this happens you’ll normally have to edit the Windows registry to fix the problem. A restriction has been placed on the user to not allow them to run Task Manager, this might be ok in an office environment where the IT department wants to control things, but in a home office this can cause major problems trying to fix a malware or virus issue.

Listed below you will find the many ways to reenable Task Manager along with an automatic method that works wonders.
To open the Task Manager, you normally would do one of the following:

  • Press CTRL-ALT-DEL on the keyboard
  • Press CTRL-SHIFT-ESC on the keyboard
  • Right-click on a blank area on the start bar and choose Task Manager
  • Click on Start, Run and type TASKMGR in the run box and press Ente

Sometimes instead of Task Manager opening you’ll see the following screen. In these cases, you’ll have to follow the methods below to re-enable access to the Task Manager.


First we’ll begin with the various registry modification methods for correcting this problem.
Method 1 - Using the Group Policy Editor in Windows XP Professional

    Click Start, Run, type gpedit.msc and click OK.Under User Configuration, Click on the plus (+) next to Administrative Templates 

  1. Click on the plus (+) next tSystem, then click on Ctrl+Alt+Delete Options
  2. Find Remove Task Manager in the right-hand pane and double click on it
  3. Choose the option “Not Configured” and click Ok.
  4. Close the Group Policy Window

Method 2: Change the Task Manager Option through the Run line

  1. Click on Start, Run and type the following command exactly and press Enter

REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Method 3: Change Task Manager through a Registry REG file

  1. Click on Start, Run, and type Notepad and press Enter
  2. Copy and paste the information between the dotted lines into Notepad and save it to your desktop as taskmanager.reg

————————————
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
“DisableTaskMgr”=dword:00000000
————————————-

3. Double click on the taskmanager.reg file to enter the information into the Windows registry>

Method 4: Delete the restriction in the registry manually

Click on Start, Run, and type REGEDIT and press Enter
Navigate to the following branch

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies\ System

In the right pane, find and delete the value named DisableTaskMgr
Close the registry editor

Oct 20

If you haven’t yet installed Microsoft’s Service Pack 2 update for Windows XP, here’s another reason to do so: SP2 gives you detailed control of add-ons to Internet Explorer, helping you take back control of your browser and thwart a wide array of spyware attacks. 

On the sly or by masquerading as a useful utility such as a toolbar, spyware can infiltrate Internet Explorer, hijacking your browser, bombarding you with ads, and tracking your every move online. Even legitimate add-ons can be infuriatingly difficult to remove once installed on your system. 

  • To manage add-ons, first make sure you have Service Pack 2 installed. Then launch Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu, select Internet Options, and click the Programs tab.
  • Click the Manage Add-ons button; you’ll probably be presented with disturbingly long list of add-ons. Go one by one through the list, click anything suspicious, and select the Disable radio button.

Be aggressive in disabling add-ons, especially Browser Helper Objects and Browser Extensions. It’s a simple matter to reenable them if you realize later that you need them. 

Of course, you may want to consider abandoning Internet Explorer altogether and switching to an alternative browser such as Mozilla’s Firefox. That will limit your vulnerability to many spyware and virus threats.

Oct 20
No matter how vigilant you are, you may wake up one morning and find your PC overrun with pop-up ads or your browser hijacked by a piece of spyware. Windows System Restore, found in Windows XP, offers a quick and easy way to remove such a spyware infection–if you catch it early enough. 

Whenever you install a new piece of software or make a major change to your system, you can create a restore pointin Windows, which records your system configuration before the change. This works like a system-wide undo, letting you fix any problems that a new piece of software or hardware or something else has caused. System Restore shouldn’t affect any of your data, only your system configuration, and in any case, the changes you make are completely reversible. You can turn on System Restore so that it automatically creates restore points daily and before you install software. Or if you know you’re about to install a new program or make a change, you can manually create a restore point.
  • To access System Restore, click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. If you have System Restore turned on, you’ll be presented with a calendar showing available restore points. If not, you can choose to create one before you install a new app.
  • If you’ve been using System Restore and suspect you’ve accidentally downloaded spyware, just select the most recent available restore point that you believe predates the introduction of the spyware. Remember, this will undo all changes made to your system, including any software updates, though it won’t delete documents you’ve created since the restore point. So be conservative; you can always try again with an earlier restore point.
  • Once you’ve successfully banished the spyware and restored your system to good working order, you may want to delete your saved restore points so that you don’t inadvertently use System Restore and reinstall the spyware on your system. To do this, right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, click the System Restore tab, click the check box next to “Turn off System Restore on all drives.” Click OK, then repeat the process, unchecking the box to turn System Restore back on.
  • If you’re about to download software that might be suspicious and you don’t have System Restore turned on (it can be a bit of a system hog), just create a restore point before you install. Click System Restore, then Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore, and choose “Create a restore point.” Follow the prompts and install without fear. If something goes wrong immediately or after a few days, just restore to the point you created

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