Vista Services

[proof]

I am going to create another hardware profile for gaming and I would like to know EVERY process/service I can disable in Vista (Ultimate 64) that I do not need for online gaming. I will switch back to the default profile for non gaming. I want EVERYTHING disabled that is not needed for online gaming though. Can anyone tell me what to do? I know where to disable the services I just need to know which ones.

 

[dsharp9000]

I know that the UAC and superfetch are obvious choices ---- as to other services I am unsure --- remember reading something somewhere on this but cant remember where?? Also heard that turning off all security feature such as firewall enabled some of the nividia graphic card (the ones that werent working right) to work with better with gaming --- but dont think this is a very good option unless your ready for your computer to be hacked. Dont know if turning UAC off poses secuirty risk ---- would be curious if anyone knows on turning off uac poses security risk????

 

[Alpha_Magnum]

Dont know if turning UAC off poses secuirty risk ---- would be curious if anyone knows on turning off uac poses security risk????

Yes it does!

 

[dsharp9000]

Alpha,

Thought this might be case --- wondering does this turn the firewall off (turning off UAC) or does it simply turn the driver signing off. Is there option to turn off UAC and keep firewall on or is UAC the firewall --- sorry if I seem ignorant in this area --- but dont have vista and heard complaints about uac --- wondering if there is work around that would allow users to avoid this nuisance without compromising security (alpha --- please stay on topic and apology is accepted).

 

[Alpha_Magnum]

Alpha,

Thought this might be case --- wondering does this turn the firewall off (turning off UAC) or does it simply turn the driver signing off. Is there option to turn off UAC and keep firewall on or is UAC the firewall --- sorry if I seem ignorant in this area --- but dont have vista and heard complaints about uac --- wondering if there is work around that would allow users to avoid this nuisance without compromising security (alpha --- please stay on topic and apology is accepted).

Imagine your running XP Pro. You created an administrator and an administrator account. Few make limited user accounts so eventually you will get hit by one or more of the thousands of windowz virii. Vista is better since it is reminding you that you are about to write to the system. UAC is about the only positive thing about vista but like XP it is not secure unless your day to day use is done as a limited user. If you ran Vista as limited then you would be forced to change credentials. M$ got their Vista UAC from *inx... The firewall is another thing. The best firewalls are always based in hardware. I don't know if disabling the UAC affects the FW but I would not disable the UAC if I were still using that Vista garbage OS

 

[dsharp9000]

Alpha,

I agree that turning off UAC could pose a security risk --- whats interesting is I have seen numerous comments that say users have to turn it off because its nuisance ---- if this is case and I had vista --- i might have to turn it off even if security was of concern ---- just because I want to be able to do my work free of hassles --- appears the design of the UAC is good in theory but cannot be used in real world application and therefore is flawed --- maybe the other commentors are overstating the problem with this --- but it does appear to be a big problem.

Other thing I have seen is that firewall sometimes must be turned off (which I guess is different than UAC) so as to increase speed or performance or to get there applications to work. Once again, users do not want to compromise there security --- but are forced to do so as to allow there applications to work --- perhaps this will be worked out.

Other features that are commonly turned off is superfetch and search. It appears that all the new features in vista must be turned off for it to work as well as xp. Not saying that vista will not work with all features on --- but am saying many people are turning a lot these features off to get it to work or to get better performance. Seems to ruin the point of upgrading.

In vista's defense, I can say that it is new and there always bugs when a new operating system is released --- but you would think after "5 years" of development a lot of this stuff would of been worked out.

 

[Alpha_Magnum]

Alpha,

I agree that turning off UAC could pose a security risk --- whats interesting is I have seen numerous comments that say users have to turn it off because its nuisance ---- if this is case and I had vista --- i might have to turn it off even if security was of concern ---- just because I want to be able to do my work free of hassles --- appears the design of the UAC is good in theory but cannot be used in real world application and therefore is flawed --- maybe the other commentors are overstating the problem with this --- but it does appear to be a big problem.

Other thing I have seen is that firewall sometimes must be turned off (which I guess is different than UAC) so as to increase speed or performance or to get there applications to work. Once again, users do not want to compromise there security --- but are forced to do so as to allow there applications to work --- perhaps this will be worked out.

Other features that are commonly turned off is superfetch and search. It appears that all the new features in vista must be turned off for it to work as well as xp. Not saying that vista will not work with all features on --- but am saying many people are turning a lot these features off to get it to work or to get better performance. Seems to ruin the point of upgrading.

In vista's defense, I can say that it is new and there always bugs when a new operating system is released --- but you would think after "5 years" of development a lot of this stuff would of been worked out.

Running as administrator 24/7 is a GIANT PROBLEM not the UAC. If you ran *nix then you are compelled to have ROOT to make system wide changes. In Vista you are running as ADMIN and get the UAC minus the LOGIN since ADMIN is already logged in.

Most exes with payloads run SILENT so in theory the UAC gives you a heads up so your system can't become corrupted. Many people (most) run their systems as ADMINISTRATOR and would turn off things like the UAC since they feel like nothing will happen to them. In the end they get toasted. Don't forget that Windowz is a VIRUS MAGNET with over 100,000 virii going at it daily. The administrator or ROOT account must always be protected!

 

[dsharp9000]

Alpha,

Is it true though all the other features are being turned off (in addition to UAC) by users or is this just overstatement on there part. Whats going on here??? For example, my brother coudnt get games to work on vista until he turned every application service off (not sure of what he did ---- but he turned everything off including firewall and some stuff i dont even know about --- it was quite bizzare --- but it worked). Just sort of wierd --- dont know what to think. I know you will want to go into how vista is bad and everything ---- but not looking for this type of response--- just wonder whats going on under the hood as it is wierd.

 

[exisnet]

Alpha,

Is it true though all the other features are being turned off (in addition to UAC) by users or is this just overstatement on there part. Whats going on here??? For example, my brother coudnt get games to work on vista until he turned every application service off (not sure of what he did ---- but he turned everything off including firewall and some stuff i dont even know about --- it was quite bizzare --- but it worked). Just sort of wierd --- dont know what to think. I know you will want to go into how vista is bad and everything ---- but not looking for this type of response--- just wonder whats going on under the hood as it is wierd.

You are asking the right questions and I look forward to an explaination.

 

[Alpha_Magnum]

Alpha,

Is it true though all the other features are being turned off (in addition to UAC) by users or is this just overstatement on there part. Whats going on here??? For example, my brother coudnt get games to work on vista until he turned every application service off (not sure of what he did ---- but he turned everything off including firewall and some stuff i dont even know about --- it was quite bizzare --- but it worked). Just sort of wierd --- dont know what to think. I know you will want to go into how vista is bad and everything ---- but not looking for this type of response--- just wonder whats going on under the hood as it is wierd.

I don't know as a fact what other folks do. I know that the requirements for Vista set a new bar above all others. A good chunk of that happens to be the +/- 60 (in my case) services that are running. It would be common for a gamer to run a stripped out user profile (as many services off as possible) so that he or she could fraggggg away. No, it is not good computing at all to do that however it is good for gaming.

The worst thing that can happen is this persons system becomes a BOT or personal info (credit card ##s) is taken. That being said if you are a hard core gamer shutting off services helps to raise your frame rate and I doubt it makes a difference if you are using XP or Vista the services in a way need to be turned off.

Gamers have a different goal then business users as do AOLers so everything is relevant. So if your asking if people are turning stuff off the short answer is in fact yes. Freeing up system resources to improve something else you're doing has been around since the first computer. If you walk a wire without a net in the end you tumble down.

Here is a list of Vista services w/ short explanations. This is just like what everybody was doing with XP's services. Services like "Remote Registry" offer a clue as to just how much things stay the same. Still other services like "Pen Service" are wasting CPU cycles if you don't use a pen. Then if you shut down a good portion of the services you wind up with XP. Look at the services of a Vista system side by side with an XP system and then shut down all the services you can on Vista and you are left with XP.

Many of the services are double edged (by intent) on the one hand if you turn them off your system becomes less secure or features stop working. On the other hand if you turn them on MS can have a closer look at your computer. Naturally here is where the great DRM rears it's head and it is UGLY. Services like "Portable Device Enumerator Service", "Peer Networking Identity Manager", "Net.Tcp Port Sharing Service", "PnP-X IP Bus Enumerator Service" and "SL UI Notification Service" all team up and consume CPU cycles.

Sure if I were still using Vista I would disable as much stuff as possible but then once Aero is off we are back to XP so why bother wasting $400.00? Once DX10 becomes a factor in all of this (this summer) I think many people will turn away from computers since it is an expensive proposition in terms of money, resources and privacy.

 

[proof]

Yeah, I stripped down XP but I don't know about Vista. And I am behind a firewall box. My job is security penetration testing anyway so I am pretty sure I can handle some hacks.