Hacking Windows startup

I got Corel's PaintShop Pro X2 for Christmas.  I really like it.  I hit a bug with it the other day.  I couldn't figure it out and had to contact their technical support.  I got a good answer from them in about 24 hours.  I learned a new Windows trick from their answer.

http://corel.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/762232

You can use the msconfig utility in Windows to control which applications start when Windows starts.  This used to all be controlled by the Startup folder on the Start menu.  Now apparently there is this additional layer where software can register and get started.

I turned off the Google Updater, Adobe Updater, Apple Updater, and a few other services/applications that I just don't need running in the background all the time.  Much cleaner.  I like that.  Fewer things running means fewer variables to troubleshoot when something goes wrong.  This is Windows, after all.  Something always goes wrong.

Safe computing

I'm a computer person.  I build my own computers from scratch.  I run new operating systems for fun.  I'm often called on to fix someone else's computer or help with a computer problem.  In this article I'm going to get down my most important advice.  All of this is aimed at people running Windows.