**Awaits rhetoric of why this is a bad tool and why it should not be used**

there is NOTHING wrong with this application/utility. it works as advertised, and does what it claims. just because someone doesnt like it, doesnt make it a crappy program. alot of people complain about the name, well this programs been around since the begining of XP, and it was named AntiSpy when people where unclear as to what MS was doing with some of this call home stuff. i myself have used it since the begining, with no probs what so ever.. but then again, i know what i'm doing with my pc. this utility may not be for the average joe user, but for some of us, its nice to not have to dig into the registry to shut off alot of what this program does with one click.

Yeah, this utility is ok. It's that other one thats bad news.

no, the reason people get worms, trojans and virus, and spyware is the flaws already present in the OS/applications their using now. you could run windows update every day and still wind up with trojans and such, by simply opening OE and checking your mail, or visiting a malicious website. its a cop out, you cant blame this one program for everyones troubles, you have to look at the root of the problem. that being said.. this isnt a program for the average joe user, and if your the type of person who would install any program without reading what it does, and then executing said program, chances are, you would get a virus, or trojan etc, by some other means. if MS released patches every single day (which they dont) then your point may be valid, but they dont. i dont need MS telling me when to update or patch, and i have yet to have a serious problem with my os installs because of this utility. again, i think its the name of the app throwing you off. i bet if this was called XP Advanced Tweak, or XPUberTweak, no one would have a problem with it.

first i do use firefox, but i have an extension that launches IE for my windows update, second, i use both 2kSP4 and XPSP1 via dual boot (no i dont need sp2, but thanks) so yet you reinforce what i say, its down to the user.. period, i cant help it if people use this program for dubious things, and fankly, i dont care, that was never my point. my point is, the validity of this program, as it stands. i like clamping down my pc, i dont like random connects to sites i'm not even visitng, that includes MS's site. i have my media playback working perfect, without using WMP and its Auto Download Codecs, i dont need to send MS an error report ever single time an app crashes or bugs out. thats me, and for me, this program works well and as advertised. i can kill alot of stuff off i dont need, with a couple clicks, instead of going through the registry, or manually locating/renaming/deleting files). and again i say, MS doesnt put updates up every day.. they should though, but they dont. so yes, i am very capable of using my pc, and i expect alot of others who read this site are too, and its to these people i recommend this program to. would i build a pc and use this on theirs.. nope, not at all, thats foolish, and asking for those 3am wake up calls of angry customers/bosses.

wow, paranoid junky? cant carry on a convo without getting insulting? shame. paranoid.. no, and i do build pc's, and as i stated i dont use programs or apps like this on those pc's... or could you not read that part? why should i let my logs fill, and my modem lights blink so much its hard to tell intrusions or call homes? have alot of net activity on a home box makes people not pay attention to certain things they should be. but if i'm sitting here, and my modem goes crazy, or my firewall/router starts really flashing, then i know somethings up, and i need to attend to it. you seem to be one of those people who thinks "my ways right, and no one else knows what their doing" you got the wrong candidate there, i know what i'm doing, and i have been using pc's.... for a long long long time. i'm familiar with Linux, Mac, Windows (all forms from dos/win up), OS/2 Warp, and a couple others i'm sure. again i state (it nothing more than to get under your skin now) this app is valid for people who know what their doing, and nothing you say, do, show me, will prove otherwise to me, or those who use this app. ps you strike me as the type who likes to hear/see himself talk, judging to the fact you like to reply to your own posts.

Youre wandering off too far. And I doubt you ever used this program at all (no wonder, since all you say is law and no need to prove your opinion to yourself). Check it once and you will see that it has very detailed explanation of EVERY switch and tweak. That guy tried to make something understandable for even newbies. And still you blame him now for hurting the internet community??? What good is it when my computer steals bandwidth (and makes my ping go up) while I play because it checks for updates, sends info to MS etc blah blah? Even the smallest programs have an option where you can disable automatic updates AND THEY KNOW WHY THEY IMPLEMENTED IT. Its not turned off by default, but if someone wants to do it manually, for whatever reasons, its possible.