Safe XP v1.5.7.14
Copyright (c) Theorica Software, 2003-2005
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Safe XP is freeware.
E-mail: theorica@gmail.com
All details are available at http://www.theorica.net
DISCLAIMER
Modifying the registry can cause serious problems that may
require you to reinstall your operating system. No guarantee
that problems resulting from modifications to the registry can
be made. Use the information provided at your own risk.
ABOUT
Safe XP is FREE software enabling
users to improves their system performance and make Windows run
faster, more secure and more stable. It is suitable for beginners
and experts.
INSTALL
Copy SafeXP.exe (and SafeXp.htm as an optional help file)
to the folder that you want.
HOW IT WORKS
When SafeXP runs, you can:
- Disable unnecessary Windows services.
- Prevent Internet attacks.
- Remove Microsoft Windows Messenger (MSN) application completely.
- Disable tracking of your document history.
- Disable Messenger anti-spam, spyware-like data traffic of
System, Internet Explorer, Media Player, Error Reporting and
much more
ADVANTAGES
- It allows you to take control of your Windows PC.
- Make Windows run faster and more securely.
- Protect your privacy and strengthen Internet protection.
- Disable Spyware-like activities of Windows XP (also 2000,
ME and 98) Operating System, Media Player, Internet Explorer
and Outlook.
- Disable unnecessary Windows services like System updates,
error reporting and much more.
- Prevent Internet attacks, any RPC/DCOM related vulnerabilities
and fix exploits like DSO.
- Disable script-based attacks on Windows Media Player, Internet
Explorer and Outlook.
- Block Windows Messenger (spam) vulnerabilities.
- Restrict the actions of potentially dangerous "HTA"
(Hypertext Application) capabilities in any version of Windows.
- It does not need any DLL or other file(s). It is just a single
"EXE" file: SafeXP.exe
- No installation necessary.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
A PC running Windows 98, ME, 2000 or XP Home or Pro.
COMPATIBILITY
Safe XP has been successfully tested and developed under Windows
98 and XP. It also works under all versions of Windows 98, ME,
2000, XP and 2003.
COMMAND LINE
Safe XP allows working with command line parameters now. It
could be helpful if you use SafeXP in any network environment.
Syntax for execution from the command line is as follows:
SafeXP.exe <configuration-file> where <configuration-file>
is the name of the previously saved file.
Example:
SafeXP c:\safexp\safexp.dat
This will start Safe XP in minimized (invisible mode), load
values from c:\safexp\safexp.dat. Then it will apply values into
the running/calling workstation. After execution program will
be closed automatically.
In a network (domain) environment, you can copy both SafeXP.exe
and, for instance, SafeXP.dat files to the Netlogon share to
load your predefined Safe XP settings silently to every workstation
which is connected to the network.
The command-line parameter is optional. If no parameter is
specified, the program will start normally.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Services: XP starts a number of background services
automatically, many are unessential and can be disabled or set
to start manually to improve performance and security.
- Disable Error report service. If a program crashes on your
machine, Windows generates an error report, which it wants to
send to Microsoft.
- Disable Remote Desktop support. Prevents your machine from
having the ability to be remotely controlled by a system administrator
or via the internet.
- Disable Remote Registry service. Disallows remote computers
to access and modify the registry on the local computer.
- Disable Windows Update service. Changes Windows automatic
updates to manual mode.
- Disable Windows Messenger Spam. The Messenger service is
normally used to transmit service messages between clients and
servers over the Internet. (It should not be confused with the
Windows Messenger instant messaging program). Advertisers are
now increasingly abusing this service by sending messages to
large blocks of random IP addresses via the Internet.
- Disable UPNP/SSDP service. UPnP is a set of communications
protocol standards that allow networked TCP/IP devices to announce
their presence to all other devices on the network and to then
inter-operate in a flexible and pre-defined fashion. There are
currently limited UnPnP devices available and due to a recent
security flaw it's advisable to disable this service. This also
allows you to disable Universal Plug and Play Network Address
Translation discovery which uses the Simple Service Discovery
Protocol (SSDP) to reduce bandwidth and increase security.
- Disable DCOM. Distributed Component Object Model, or DCOM,
provides a method for distributed network applications to communicate
with one another. This setting allow you to disable support for
DCOM.
- Disable Internet time synchronize. The system automatically
synchronizes its time with a timeserver at Microsoft.
- Disable POSIX subsystem. Windows 2000 and XP still come with
the POSIX subsystem which allows the use of Unix commands against
your system.
- Disable Help service. Disables Help and Support service to
gain more system resources.
Miscellaneous:
- Clear Pagefile at Shutdown. Windows does not normally clear
or recreate the page file. On a heavily used system this can
be both a security threat and performance
drop. Enabling this setting will cause Windows to clear the page
file whenever the system is shutdown.
- Secure Desktop. Prevent certain software from sniffing and
recording I/O on the desktop; however, the patch can interfere
with other software.
- No File sharing. Disallows other users on a network from
sharing your files.
- No Printer sharing. Disallows other users on the network
from sharing your printer.
TCP/IP and NetBIOS:
- Restrict Anonymous Guest Access. There is a security flaw
in the kernels of Windows NT, 2000 and XP. They allow anonymous
session access, which can reveal dangerous information about
a computer and its SAM (Security Accounts Manager) accounts.
Discovering a SAM with administrative privileges could allow
an attacker
to break into the user's account and jack up account privileges
to admin level.
- Protect Against SYN Flood Attacks. Windows includes protection
that allows it to detect and adjust when the system is being
targeted with a SYN flood attack (a type of denial of service
attack). When enabled the connection responses time out more
quickly in the event of an attack.
- Prevent Denial of Service Attacks. Denial of service attacks
are network attacks that are aimed at making a computer or a
particular service unavailable to network users.
These settings can be used to increase the ability for Windows
to defend against these attacks when connected directly to the
Internet.
- Disable listening on TCP port 445. Disables the raw SMB transport
to cause malicious NetBIOS attacks and protect users from inadvertently
exposing files on their computers, and also to block worms which
spread via open file shares.
Internet Explorer 6:
- Disable Automatic Updates. The Internet Explorer automatically
connects to MS and checks for updates by default.
- Disable Scheduled Updates. The Internet Explorer periodically
checks for updates (usually once a month).
- Disable Windows Authentication. Deactivates integrated Windows
authentication so the current user can be identified over the
internet.
- Prevent Execution of Risky Commands. Prevents download permission
for unsigned ActiveX controls and disables the vulnerability
of mhtml documents. This restriction also removes the file association
for .HTA extension to prevent infection by worms-like-viruses.
It is safe for you if you do not use any HTML applications (HTA-files)
at your computer.
- Disable internal Java JIT compiler. Disables Internet Explorer's
internal Java Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler.
- Disable Script Debugger. If you run a script in Internet
Explorer that results in an error, Internet Explorer gives you
the option to debug the script.
- Disable Watson Debug Log .When Internet Explorer crashes,
it asks you if you would like to send an error report to Microsoft.
Doing this may help the Internet Explorer
development team improve stability in future releases, however
you can disable this by checking the tick in the box. Internet
Explorer 6.0 only.
Media Player:
Windows Media Player has some Spyware
features. But you still have some control over your personal
computer.
- Disable Auto Upgrade and User Tracking. Windows Media Player
(WMP) will check from time to time if a new version of WMP is
available by connecting to the microsoft.com site. If you do
not want this to happen, mark this option.
- Disable Sending User Identifier. Windows Media Player sends
a "serial number" unique to your system (GUID: global
unique identifier) to Microsoft & other content
providers. For enhanced privacy, check (disable) this option.
- Disable Automatic Codec Download. Codecs are what Windows
Media Player uses to decode encoded media files (such as MP3,
AVI etc.). If you try to play a file that Windows Media Player
does not have a codec for, enabling this option will allow it
to download one from Microsoft's web site automatically. Disabling
this will make it ask you first.
- Disable Processing of Scripts in Files. Disables Windows
Media Player from running embedded HTML script commands which
can contain malicious code and should be disabled.
- Disable Recent files in Media Player. This restriction will
disable Windows Media Player from creating recently used lists.
- Disable Acquire licenses automatically. This restriction
will disable Windows Media Player from connecting to Internet
sites for acquiring licenses. You acquired your license when
you bought the CD, you should be able to copy it to your hard
disk.
- Disable Auto-update Media Information. This restriction will
disable Windows Media Player from connecting to Internet sites
for updating media information.
Office XP:
- Block Linked Images in Documents. As an added security measure
you can configure Office XP to block linked Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP) images that are placed in documents. This is
useful to avoid to ability for documents to be tracked using
hidden images.
- Disable Error Reporting. In the event of a program crash
with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 and 6, Office XP and
also Windows XP itself, the user has the option to send debugging
information to Microsoft. In theory this sounds like a smart
function which should help Microsoft create more stable software.
However, users sending these reports should be aware that sensitive
or personal information may be sent to Microsoft along with debugging
information.
Remove from Start Menu:
- Recent Documents. This setting can be used to remove the
Recent Documents folder from the Start Menu.
- Favorites. This tweak allows you to remove the Favorites
folder from the Start Menu.
- My Documents. This restriction removes My Documents which
is shown under the Documents folder on the Start Menu.
- My Pictures. This restriction removes My Pictures from the
Documents folder on the Start Menu.
- My Music. This restriction removes My Music from the Documents
folder on the Start Menu.
- Recent Documents History. Normally when you open or access
a document or file it is added to the list of recent documents
on the Start Menu. This tweak will stop
files from being added to the list.
- Recent Shares. This restriction stops remote shared folders
from being added to Network Places whenever you open a document
in the shared folder.
- Help and Support. This restriction removes the Help feature
from the Start Menu.
- Run. Removes the ability to launch commands or processes
from the Start menu by removing the Run option.
MSN Windows Messenger:
- Disable in Outlook and IE. It is used to remove MSN Instant
Messenger functionality and integration from Outlook Express.
- Disable Autostart MSN. Prevent certain software from sniffing
and recording I/O on the desktop; however, the patch can interfere
with other software.
- Disable MSN completely. It is used to disable the ability
to run the Microsoft MSN Instant Messenger client.
Network:
- Disable Automatic Hidden Shares. It is possible to control
automatically created hidden shares (C$, D$, E$ and so on) by
Windows networking.
- Hide Computer from the Browser List. If you have a secure
server or workstation you wish to hide from the general browser
list, then enable this setting.
- Secure DNS cache against pollution. DNS cache pollution can
occur if Domain Naming Service (DNS) "spoofing" has
been encountered. The term "spoofing" describes the
sending of non-secure data in response to a DNS query. DNS spoofing
can be used to redirect queries to a rogue DNS server and can
be malicious in nature.
BUG REPORT
Before you e-mail Theorica
about possible bugs check the homepage and be sure you have the
newest version of the program.
CONTACT
If you have any questions, suggestions, bug reports or anything
else feel free to contact Theorica at theorica@gmail.com
or visit the web site: http://www.theorica.net/
Copyright (c) Theorica Software 2003-2005.
All rights reserved.
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What's New:
Version 1.5.7.14 - July 14, 2005
- Improved backup/restore state routines.
- Some minor issues fixed.
Version 1.5.3.21 - March 21, 2005
- SafeXP does not change any settings anymore unless you click
the option's check box (previously it detects current setting
and sets it to the default value).
- Optimized Media Player privacy settings.
- Some minor Windows XP Service Pack 2
- Automatic Update issues fixed.
- Made some cosmetic changes.
Version 1.5.1.25 - January 25, 2005
- Changed Internet zones for vulnarabilities to allow active
content and web pages running locally.
- Improved Windows XP Service Pack 2 Automatic Update issues
to check running state of wuauserv service at startup.
- Added the ability to work with Office 2003.
- Added small icons for sections.
- Made some cosmetic changes.
Version 1.4.11.20 - November 19, 2004
- Improved Windows XP Service Pack 2 Automatic Update issues.
- Made some cosmetic changes.
Version 1.4.11.1 - November 1, 2004
- Improved Remote Desktop service settings.
- Optimized Media Player internet connection settings.
- Added the ability to handle Error Reporting for Office 2003
Version 1.4.10.20 - October 20, 2004
- Fixed I/O errors when the current media (disk, drive or directory)
is not writable.
Redesigned the behaviour of "Restrict Anonymous Guest Access"
option in the TCP/IP & NetBIOS section.
- Optimized and enhanced "Disable Script Debugger"
option in the Internet Explorer 6 section.
- Optimized "Prevent Execution of Risky Commands"
option in the Internet Explorer 6 section.
- Improved reading any data from registry without error and
checking for appropriate data type.
- Made some cosmetic changes.
Version 1.4.9.15 - September 15, 2004
- Added an option to disable Help service.
- Added an option to disable listening on TCP port 445 to prevent
NetBIOS attacks.
- Disable Script Debugger and JIT compiler options are improved
and divided into two different options.
- Added an option for removing Help and Support from the Start
menu.
- Added an option to secure DNS cache against pollution in
the Network section.
Removed Classic Shell option in the Miscellaneous section.
- Removed Search option in the Remove from Start Menu section.
- Optimized Media Player settings to work with new Media Player
version 10.
- Start or stop checked/unchecked services immediately.
- Added the ability to recover back to computer itself's original
state in the first run of Safe XP.
- Improved reading / writing binary data from registry.
- Made some cosmetic changes.
- Some minor bugs fixed.
Version 1.4.8.20 - August 17, 2004
- Fixed Windows XP Service Pack 2 Automatic Update issues.
- Made some cosmetic changes.
Version 1.4.7.30 - July 30, 2004
- Fixed registry data type errors.
Version 1.4.7.25 - July 23, 2004
- Fixed Classic Shell settings for Windows 2000.
- Some minor bugs fixed.
Version 1.4.7.10 - July 8, 2004
- Made some cosmetic changes.
Version 1.4.5.15 - May 14, 2004
- Added "Recommended Settings" button and removed
Select All and Unselect All buttons.
- Made minor cosmetic changes.
- Some minor bugs fixed.
Version 1.4.4.20 - April 17, 2004
- Many improvements in Media Player settings.
- Made minor cosmetic changes.
- Some minor bugs fixed.
Version 1.4.3.5 - March 5, 2004
- Many improvements in the Improving Active Scripting (arbitrary
commands) security issues like:
- Eliminated ADODB vulnerability.
- Optimized protection of vulnerability of HTML-applications
(.HTA) and MHTML.
- Added translations: Spanish.
- Improved reading / writing binary data from registry.
- Some minor bugs fixed.
Version 1.4.2.1 - February 1, 2004
- Added the ability to save and restore settings to/from the
file. The created file that can easily be loaded by System Administrators
to the other machines in the Network/Domain later.
- Added command line mode.
- Added translations: French, Turkish.
- Added an option to disable RPC Locator service.
- Added an option to enable Windows File Protection.
- Added an option for deleting temporary internet files when
the browser is closed.
- Added an option to read messages as plain text in the MS
Office XP section.
- Added an option to block attached some kind of files in Outlook.
- Added an option for removing username from the Start menu.
- Added an option to stop recording user tracking information.
- Added an option for removing pinned program list from the
Start menu.
- Added an option for removing shared documents folder in the
Network section.
- Optimized disabling automatic codec downloads.
- Fixed slow loading of Outlook Express when Messenger is disabled
or deleted.
- Fixed "Hide Computer from the Browser List" option
to work for Windows 2000 Server computers.
- Modified method for checking for Internet Explorer updates
on microsoft.com.
- Made minor cosmetic changes.
Version 1.03.12.27 - December 27, 2003
- Added Status bar with short help when the user moves mouse
over the options.
Redesigned the behaviour of disabling DCOM support.
- Many improvements in the Improving Active Scripting (arbitrary
commands) security issues like:
- Eliminated Activex bug which is found in the Internet Explorer
and Adobe Browser Utility (Adobe SVG Viewer).
- Added protection of vulnerability of HTML-applications (.HTA)
and MHTML.
- Added an option to disable Java JIT compiler in the Internet
Explorer.
- Enhanced the TCP/IP Stack Security to Protect Against Denial
of Service Attacks.
- Help file updated.
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