Registry Hacks

Windows registry ‘hacks’ are commands incorporated into the Windows Registry with the aim of improving the system’s efficiency, security or communications protocols. Knowing how to ‘tweak’ the registry can help ensure the security and efficiency of a computer system. What follows is a brief explanation of the system registry and some suggested ‘hacks’ to make a computer system more secure.

Security hacks are especially useful in securing computer systems. One such security hack is by controlling the programs that other people can use on your computer – especially useful in a home environment to keep younger family members out of sensitive areas or programs on your system. Although this can be easily accomplished by setting yourself as the administrator, Windows XP also establishes a ‘hidden’ administrator account by default (with no password) – which can be accessed by other people if they know how to do it.

Tweaking the Windows Registry to disable the ‘hidden’ administrator account as well as restricting access to specific programs ensures beefed-up security.

Other security ‘tweaks’ or hacks are preventing other people from having access to specific drives, disabling the ‘Saved Password’ command for dial-up networking (DUN), and disabling certain dialogue boxes (such as the ‘Security’ tab in a File Properties folder) to prevent people from changing the permissions that you set.

Before trying these, however, make sure to back up your registry file. Careless modification of the registry may cause your system to crash, which would require a reinstallation of the operating system and applications.