How tweaked is your OS?

[xdarkyrex]

What kind of operating system are you using?

Any custom modifications to it?

Tweaks and third party modifications?

Any replacement shells or components removed?

What types of software do you use most often? What applications in specific?


The reason I ask is because I've really got into tweaking software on my PC, and I've got this thing so gutted that it doesn't even remotely resemble or work like winXP anymore, although it retains the main perks of using windows (software support).

If anyone else goes out of their way to customize their software to death, I'd be curious to hear about it.







Here's what I got going on.

First things first, after I downloaded all the updates from Microsofts website, I gutted my registry to take out most everything I didn't want. That means all the software it comes with that I didn't want, also, things like Internet Explorer and Windows Messenger and Outlook Express and every other thing I could take off this PC that wouldn't effect my ability to go online, view media, play games, or work with compilers and video/audio/image editors. I have everything setup to not start when I turn on my pc to allow for lightning fast pc startup, and I have hacked a whole lot of the system files for windows to remove, alter, or tweak various settings, such as unlocking uxtheme.dll for native skinning, replacing my bootscreen, and automating my login actions (I did that using tweakUI)

Right now my main software is as follows-
---Notepad for text files (I love the simplicity of it)
---Directory Opus as a Windows Explorer replacement (and as an imageviewer)
---winRAR for zips.
---LiteStep for a desktop and shell (with my own custom built minimal top-right corner theme, well defined right click menu including popup task bar, VWM scrolls left or right using corner pixel hotspots, song playing shows up right under my VWM tray, system tray, and clock, all with transparent backgrounds and simple minimal text)
---Firefox for a browser, naturally (with a powerful set of web development and analyzing extensions, along with browser expediency and gmail integration)
---Winamp for all my audio needs, and for iPod integration ( I also have the last.fm extension running for the awesome radio stations and audio statistic recording of my massive collection)
---VLCplayer with the Xcodec pack for my video needs (I also have quicktime and DivX webplayer for streaming video, since theyre fairly lite and secure software programs)
---Adobe Photoshop CS2 for image editing and for my artwork.
---Adobe Premiere for my video editing.
---Reason 3.0 and Audacity 1.3 Beta for my audio editing and music creation needs.
---Trillian for instant messenging (I'm waiting for a better IM program to come out, or for AIM and MSN and Yahoo to start using open-protocol IM like Google-talk does)
---Google Earth because I'm easily amused and it has great mapping features.
---Alcohol 120% for cd burning
---Bulletproof FTP to run my 'My Documents' as a shared folder online, for other people to upload and download to and from.
---As for the games I have installed that I never intend to remove-
ZZT
Zelda Classic 2.10
gens+
zsnes
Nesticle
Fallout 1 & 2
Planescape: Torment






If anyone knows of better software than the stuff I've got that isn't too bloated, or you just want to compare and contrast different software, tell me all about it

 

[Silveressa]

Hmm, well for starters I dumped all the extra crap xp stuffed in there (solitare, out look msn messenger etc..) and disabled the "genuine windows validation" crap.

I never messed too far with the registry given seeing the blue screen of death after mess up and the whole trial/error method doesn't appeal to me.

The main programs I have are mostly for game modding but here's a short list.

Wndows media player 9 (10 has that validation crap I don;t want to be bothered by) Since 99% of my music is mp3's and my pc is where I play 99.9% of my music from it's kinda the most usaed program I own.

Note pad (a must for game modding and quick note writing in general)

Ms Word/Excel (necessary for any kind of serious writing)

Cook top (a file editing program used for some video games)

Ultra Edit

Game Extractor

Win Merge (useful for comparing files for inconsitences)

A few other miscellaneous editing programs I can't think of the name of

Disk Deamon (a must for loading isos and checking for erros on disks, like my corrupted fallout tactics disk) and for loading isos of games I've imaged to my pc that the disc's are no longer readable of for whatever reason.

Most importantly though I have my OS loaded on a completely seperate drive than my data files. XP runs on a small 40 gig drive while all my core files are on a 500 gig drive and critical files backed up additionally on a 160 gig drive.

This way when windows craps out, catches a nasty spyware restoring won't fix or what not, I can smile, give it the finger and reinstall Xp if need be without worrying about backing up gigs and gigs of data.

This is probably the one thing that's saved me countless headaches over the years. Troyuble shooting windows when it won't load and basic restore/safe mode fixes don't work = hours of trial & error and sometimes only a partial fix that fails again a few hours down the road. Reinstalling windows XP = maybe 2-3 hours of work. (I've got 90% of the updates backed up on cd and a system restore.)

A buch of other misc programs like win zip win rar, nero express, iso buster, fraps av music morpher gold, etc..

Poser 7 (a fun program, really handy for making pnp rpg char looks, throwing togther concept appreances for settings, etc..)

Games I always have installed.

Fall out 1, 2 and tactics. (all modded to hell and back but oh so fun)

Unreal tourney 2004 (perfect game to take frustrations out in and fun to mod)

Earth 2160 (great rts game, small install size and fun)

Homeworld 2 (undoubtely the best space based rts ever made, and also modded to hell and back))

S.t.a.l.k.e.r (oneof the best fps's I've ever played, and yes, just like every other game, I've got installed at the moment, modded to hells end lol)


For web browsing I use Explorer 6. whatever (I tried firefox but some sites I like won;t load correctly with it so gave it up and 7.09 has more of that windows validation crap and is buggy)

Spy ware protection is

Pest Patrol,

Lavasoft adware SE personal

and spy hunter

Virus protection is norton anti virus 2005 and avg anti virus

Fire walls are the routers built in one and Sunbelt kerio personal firewall.

Generally as far as online security goes I prefer to have some redundancy, given 90% of the time with spy ware what one program doesn't catch the other 2 will. (same possibility holds true for viruses and firewalls imho)

 

[xdarkyrex]

I have some suggestions for you.

First off, ditch windows media player and get VideoLAN with the Xcodec pack and Winamp.

There is not a better pair of programs to use for audio and video programs out there.

VideoLAN is very advanced and very versatile, running even some of the most obscure video types, and It's also a tiny program that uses minimal resources. Winamp is the most well supported and versatile media player out there that I have come across, and puts a strong focus on music. Both are very customizable, but Winamp is one of the hallmarks of customization for people who like skins or alternate shells.

Also, If you get firefox 2.0 and the IE tab extension, fasterfox extension, noscript extension, and adblock, you will never get spyware or anything of that nature again (and you won't see ads on websites either) unless you manualy download it, and it will also have the option of loading pages in the internet explorer rendering engine, for those pesky pages that wont work. It also will go faster, and can be configured, customized, and skinned to death. The toolbar is also very cutomizable, and the search tool can have a listing of downloadable search engines in it of nearly every type. It also has excellent support for RSS feeds if you care about those. (If you don't use RSS feeds, you need to catch up on the web2.0 buddy!)

I have only had to reinstall my windows once ever, my NoScript extension makes my PC next to immune to browser based trojans, the one time I did it was due to a hardware problem, the very few times I've gotten spyware, I booted into safe mode, disabled all my startup items, and systematically deleted all the processes that tried to start that I don't normally have running, and analyzed all my processes for weird programs (I know what each one is on my pc, since my registry is as empty as it can get, making troubleshooting a sinch) Anyways, my point is that you should get yourself nLite. It lets you build a customized startup ISO out of a windows cd, with all the properties and updates you want already installed onto it, and streamlines the process as well. Also when you install windows, it can give you a tremendous amount of control, finally letting you remove those pesky programs that you can uninstall and cannot delete, like IE6 and Outlook and Windows Messenger.


Oh, and for ISO's I use my burner, Alcohol 120%. Spectacular program I suggest you look it up.

Oh and spyware scanning program is shit, don't waste your time with it. Using a google search works ten times as well. just CTRL + ALT + DELETE and go to your task manager, click on tha applications tab, and then google each .exe until you find the one thats viral


Oh lasty I'd just like to say...
You probably wouldn't need security at all if you didn't use Explorer.

it's a hotbed for exploits.

 

[Briosafreak]

Oh and spyware scanning program is shit, don't waste your time with it. Using a google search works ten times as well. just CTRL + ALT + DELETE and go to your task manager, click on tha applications tab, and then google each .exe until you find the one thats viral

That's really silly man, don't say that.

 

[Sander]

Ehm, people, please try to ignore xdarkyrex's advice as much as possible. He does not know what he is talking about. Anti-spyware programs are useful and do work, a lot better than googling every *application* running in your task manager, especially since most virii and spyware don't show up in the applications tab.

Using Firefox is *not* a guarantee for not getting any spyware, even if you use the noscript extension. Using the IEtab extension to surf to certain websites means you are still vulnerable to the exact same problems Internet Explorer normally is vulnerable to.

There's only one surefire way to avoid infections, and that is being sensible about your internet behaviour and running a *good* firewall, virusscanner and anti-spyware tool.

 

[xdarkyrex]

Excuse my mistake, I didn't mean applications tab, I meant processes tab. Minor glitch on my part.

Practically nothing shows up in that applications tab


As for the firewall advice, I endorse it as well, but virus scan and spyware scan programs don't really work all that well. I have had to manually remove spyware many times from peoples PCs because it wouldn't pick up on it, and it also would pick up on things that aren't spyware.

Now if you're going around downloading suspicious looking files from dubious locations, then there's nothing a software program can do for you anyways.

As for having firefox with noscript, sure you can still get some spyware, but the odds of getting any is really small unless you just go whitelisting everything. Firefox by itself is alot harder to and less often exploted than IE. As for IEtab, yes it does open you up for exploits when you open a page in Internet Explorer. But how often is that anyways? I've only ever had to use IEtab to open a page a few times ever. I mostly use it for testing web designs.

 

[Sander]

As for the firewall advice, I endore it as well, but virus scan and spyware scan programs don't really work all that well. I have had to manually remove spyware many times from peoples PCs because it wouldn't pick up on it, and it also would pick up on things that aren't spyware.

Which is why I say you need to get a *good* anti-spyware tool and virusscanner. Your advice not to use them is really, really, really shitty advice and a surefire way to get your PC infected.

 

[xdarkyrex]

As for the firewall advice, I endore it as well, but virus scan and spyware scan programs don't really work all that well. I have had to manually remove spyware many times from peoples PCs because it wouldn't pick up on it, and it also would pick up on things that aren't spyware.

Which is why I say you need to get a *good* anti-spyware tool and virusscanner. Your advice not to use them is really, really, really shitty advice and a surefire way to get your PC infected.

That's funny. My pc isn't infected

And I go to some pretty dubious sites.
I'd even venture to say I could trek around a site like asta-killer and be just fine.

I haven't had an instance of spyware, adware, viruses, or popups in about 3 and a half years, and in that time I have trekked to every corner of the net. The one time I did get spyware was from downloading real player, which I knew was a bad idea, but I REALLY wanted to watch a certain streaming video . I made sure to clean up the mess shortly after. Only took a few minutes.


Oh btw, which anti-spyware program is GOOD?
out of curiosity.



Also, if you absolutely must use virus scanning, use this online scanner, its better than just about any software you will find.
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm

 

[Madbringer]

I'd REALLY like to see you detect/remove a rootkit using your "process google" method, LOL.

If you think antiviruses or spyware detectors don't work, means you were using some really shitty ones. Oh, uh. Panda. >_>

Also, you may think your pc isn't infected.

On topic, i don't much care about pimping my win xp. Don't really go much further then toying with style xp from time to time when i'm bored.

As for the software i use:

Winamp, VLC, Teamspeak 2, Ventrillo, Seismovision 3, Reason, Battery, Nuendo, Wavelab, Photoshop Cs2, Premiere Pro, Live Messenger, Gadu-Gadu, Skype, nLite, Avast!, Spybot, Irfanview, Drumagog, Firefox, Trillian, Recover My Files, Adobe Reader 8, CorelDRAW 12, AmpegSVX, Thunderbird, Gmer, Hijackthis, Killbox.

That's about it. Sorry for not sorting and explaining what they do, i'm a lazy asshole. Haha.

 

[xdarkyrex]

I'd REALLY like to see you detect/remove a rootkit using your "process google" method, LOL.

If you think antiviruses or spyware detectors don't work, means you were using some really shitty ones. Oh, uh. Panda. >_>

first of all, panda is excellent. Top-notch virus scanning. Strangely, I've never seen any software that works as well as the panda online scan (which also works better than the panda software lol)

I know the function of all my processes, programs, startup settings (including the one in my msconfig), most of my registry, services, group policies, and then some.

I run a very tight ship.

 

[Sander]

That's funny. My pc isn't infected

And I go to some pretty dubious sites.
I'd even venture to say I could trek around a site like asta-killer and be just fine.

I haven't had an instance of spyware, adware, viruses, or popups in about 3 and a half years, and in that time I have trekked to every corner of the net. The one time I did get spyware was from downloading real player, which I knew was a bad idea, but I REALLY wanted to watch a certain streaming video . I made sure to clean up the mess shortly after. Only took a few minutes.


Oh btw, which anti-spyware program is GOOD?
out of curiosity.

Both Ad-aware and Spybot are really good, but neither catch everything. Run both and there's almost nothing that gets through.

Also, if you absolutely must use virus scanning, use this online scanner, its better than just about any software you will find.
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm

Panda? Fucking Panda?
You *really* have no clue.

 

[Madbringer]

first of all, panda is excellent. Top-notch virus scanning. Strangely, I've never seen any software that works as well as the panda online scan (which also works better than the panda software lol)

I'm sorry, but if you do consider Panda scanner top-notch, then your ship definitely isn't as tight as you claim it to be. No offense, but from my own experience, anything ever made by Panda is complete shit.

But well, if it works for you..

 

[xdarkyrex]

Both Ad-aware and Spybot are really good, but neither catch everything. Run both and there's almost nothing that gets through.

I find it odd that neither of them had the ability to work with ncase, so I ended up laboring to manually destroy it.
In any case, spyware's got nothin on a registry firewall (registry monitor).
Thats the route to go if you are terribly paranoid about it.

I'm sorry, but if you do consider Panda scanner top-notch, then your ship definitely isn't as tight as you claim it to be.

Well I'm pretty confident that I'm virus free.

But what have you heard about their online scan? I haven't heard anything negative at all.

I'd REALLY like to see you detect/remove a rootkit using your "process google" method, LOL.

Rootkits are sort of a unique situation.
Luckily there aren't a whole lot of those floating around.
although I do assume that a rootkit still couldn't install itself if I am running a registry monitor, yeah?

 

[Makagulfazel]

Here's what I do to fix peoples' computers of spyware and adware while I'm at work:

Run Adaware.
Run CCleaner.
Run Dr. Web - Cureit
Run Hijackthis (Not for novices)
Run msconfig (Remove crap apps from startup)
Remove all RECENT .exe files from the C:\windows\system32 folder. Do this by sorting by the date the file was modified.

If I still have adware problems on a specific computer, I use HiJackFree. HiJackFree is the ultimate tool for removing adware from your computer.

All of these programs are freeware. Use them well.

As for a virus scanner, AVG Free is what I have used for years. While some people nitpick that it sucks, it's far more superior than Norton and McAfee and barely uses any system resources.

At my house I use AVG Free as my virus scanner and Zone Alarm as my firewall. If I suspect adware, I use the above steps.

Edit: I meant to type C:\windows\system32, not just \system. Added my home use section. If you use Windows2000, the path would be c:\winnt\system32.

 

[Madbringer]

Well I'm pretty confident that I'm virus free.

But what have you heard about their online scan? I haven't heard anything negative at all.

Well mate, i did use a Panda antivir for a long while. It's db turned out to be shitty, and after some time my comp started slowly filling up with nasty things.

Also, don't know if you heard about this, but Panda antivir software comes packing with a very dangerous security hole. There's a fix for it, of course, but i think that itself speaks for the quality of their products.

Simply put, i find it highly ineffective and untrustworthy.

Rootkits are sort of a unique situation.
Luckily there aren't a whole lot of those floating around.
although I do assume that a rootkit still couldn't install itself if I am running a registry monitor, yeah?

There's more of them out there then you think. And only a very shitty rootkit would allow itself to get detected via registry monitors. Nasty stuff, really. I got one particularly evil when i downloaded a jpeg from emule. The motherfucker was embedded in it. Took me four hours to hunt it down and remove it. :/

 

[xdarkyrex]

Well I'm pretty confident that I'm virus free.

But what have you heard about their online scan? I haven't heard anything negative at all.

Well mate, i did use a Panda antivir for a long while. It's db turned out to be shitty, and after some time my comp started slowly filling up with nasty things.

Also, don't know if you heard about this, but Panda antivir software comes packing with a very dangerous security hole. There's a fix for it, of course, but i think that itself speaks for the quality of their products.

Simply put, i find it highly ineffective and untrustworthy.

I was talking about the free online scan thingy.
It's much better than their actual software, which is odd.

Rootkits are sort of a unique situation.
Luckily there aren't a whole lot of those floating around.
although I do assume that a rootkit still couldn't install itself if I am running a registry monitor, yeah?

There's more of them out there then you think. And only a very shitty rootkit would allow itself to get detected via registry monitors. Nasty stuff, really. I got one particularly evil when i downloaded a jpeg from emule. The motherfucker was embedded in it. Took me four hours to hunt it down and remove it. :/

Hmm, I've never got one.