XPost: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general   
   From: mayayana@invalid.nospam   
      
   | As we all know, it is not a good idea to go on the internet   
   | from an administrator account,   
      
     Do we all know that? I always install XP to FAT32 to   
   avoid the permissions complications. If I had to use NTFS   
   I'd always run as Admin. To my mind the trouble of NTFS   
   is not worth the benefit.The idea of different   
   types of accounts originates from corporate PCs, where   
   the intranet is trusted but the employee is not. So all   
   the hallways are open but every cabinet and door is locked.   
   With SOHo PCs it's the opposite: the person using the PC   
   is generally trusted but the Internet is not. So in that case   
   a good front door lock is more appropriate. But Microsoft   
   wants to reduce support costs, and most people offering   
   advice have a business IT background. As a result "we all   
   know" that one should always run with restricted rights and   
   should never venture outside of one's Documents folder.   
   Each version of Windows is more adamant than the last   
   with that guidance.   
      
     It certainly doesn't hurt to run in "lackey mode" while   
   online, but it does create hassles, as you detailed in your   
   post. If you're going to lock all of your draws and cabinets   
   in order to avoid thieves then you're going to have to   
   reach for your keys every time you want something.   
   Meanwhile, exploits that bypass such restrictions are   
   common. By far a better method is to stop the leak in   
   the first place: Don't enable Jave or script. Remove   
   flash player and PDF browser plugins. Unfortunately, most   
   people are not willing to do that because their Facebook   
   page and favorite online shopping sites simply won't   
   function with safe settings.   
      
   |   
   | The FW is the free Agnitum Outpost Firewall 1.0.242   
   | from 2002. I tried a few of the current ones, but not   
   | only are they 150MBs or more instead of 3MB, they   
   | are totally demented   
   |   
      
      I did a lot of research, too, and never came up with an   
   ideal choice. Most of the popular ones have become extremely   
   bloated. I've settled on Online Armor 4.0.0.15 Free. It's not   
   perfect. It has a problematic behavior of accessing the disk   
   every few seconds, checking for a file that never existed in   
   the first place. Unfortunately, the company was sold to   
   another company called Emsisoft. The installer went from   
   an already bloated 11 MB to a ridiculous 21 MB. (Probably over   
   50 MB installed!) The free version became a sort-of-free-but-   
   you-have-to-sign-up version. (Perhaps ad-supported.   
   I'm not sure.) So I've stuck with v. 4.0.0.15. I also downloaded   
   the free pcTools firewall, which was well-rated, but never got   
   around to trying that one. I'd be willing to pay for a good   
   firewall, but I just haven't found the ideal product that   
   provides full, informative control over all in/out activity,   
   without also trying to be 5 other programs that I don't want.   
   (Anti-malware, anti-phishing, email filter, running program   
   monitor, etc.)   
      
     It'd be interesting to hear from others about their experiences   
   with firewalls. (Other than the Windows firewall, that is.)   
      
      The best firewall I ever used was AtGuard, which was way   
   ahead of it's time. But it was only written for Win95/98, and they   
   sold out to Symantec. Symantec then rebranded it, doubled   
   the price, reduced the functionality, and set 800+- programs   
   to be able to go through the firewall by default!   
      
   |   
   | And there is nothing as charming and user-friendly as the XP   
   | start menu after you've been using the machine for a while,   
   | with its 200 or more main levels, sublevels, sub-sublevels,   
   | sub-sub-sublevels, etc.   
   |   
      
     The XP Start Menu is not really different from the Win9x   
   Start Menu. If you use Classic View it's basically the same   
   thing. Right-click Start, click Explore, and you can clean   
   house, just like in Win9x. The real problem is software that   
   installs with a half dozen pointless links, to help file, uninstall,   
   website, etc.   
      
     The dual folders -- user and all users -- are a bit of a hassle.   
   That existed in Win9x but the All Users folder was almost never   
   used, so it didn't matter. Win9x was set up to default to an   
   "I'm the only user" setting. WinNT is designed with the   
   pretense that there's no such thing as a single-user, stand-   
   alone PC.   
     I just move everything to the All Users Start Menu folder, so   
   that it's effectively a single Start Menu. And I group things into   
   folders: Office, Utilities, Graphics, etc. I don't install software   
   on a regular basis, so I don't mind too much doing that   
   reorganization. For most things I'm just using Quick Launch,   
   anyway. (Unfortunately, that's one of the things that   
   Microsoft broke in Vista/7. One can put shortcuts on Quick   
   Launch, but software installers can't put them there.)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)