Limit shadow copies and save storage space(Windows Vista)

           Storage space is a rare luxury, even in times of huge hard disks. In the case of notebooks, you quickly run short of it, especially if you are into video editing.

          Delete unnecessary fi les without having to forego important functions. For instance, Vista regularly creates shadow copies, which are used to recover the system or to access older fi le versions in case of emergency. This function takes up a lot of storage space. But if you regularly create backups of your data you can limit the storage space allocated to the shadow copies, without foregoing an important security aspect. However, Vista does not off er any dialog box for the configuration. Not a problem: Simply switch to the command line program ‘vssadmin.exe’. First, start a window of the command line with administrator rights. For this, write ‘cmd’ in the search fi eld in the start menu, right-click ‘cmd.exe’ and select the context command ‘Run as Administrator’. Subsequently confirm the user account control query with ‘Next’. Now use
vssadmin list shadowstorage
            to query the current status of the shadow copies. Windows lists how much storage space is allocated for the shadow copies, where and for which drive is already being used.
Use the following command for adaptation:
vssadmin resize shadowstorage / on=[drive] /for=drive / maxsize=[specify size]
            For ‘Drive’, enter the drive letter followed by a colon, where and for which drive you want the shadow copies to be saved and specify the ‘/Maxsize’ option without fail, otherwise Windows does not limit the size.
/on=c: /for=c: /maxsize=10GB
             As a value for ‘Size’, use a number followed by the respective unit such as ‘MB’ or ‘GB’. You can subsequently check the current status once again using:
vssadmin list shadowstorage

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Check the system for security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations(Windows XP, Vista)

          Although the automatic update function is activated, you really can’t rely on it. Have all important updates and mainly hotfi xes been installed for Windows? Or are there still any vulnerabilities?
          With the Baseline Security Analyzer, Microsoft offers a free of cost tool for administrators as well as private users. It checks Windows and many other Microsoft programs such as Office, IE or servers for missing updates, hotfixes and vulnerabilities and generates an XML report. You can download the program free of cost from ‘http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/default.aspx’. In the search fi eld type ‘MBSA’ and follow the link to download the fi le. For installation, open the MSI fi le and follow the set-up.

          Then, start the tool. The first page refers to a new version. However, that is not available since MBSA 2.1 is still up-to-date. Follow the ‘Scan a computer’ link. The name of your own computer is already preset under ‘Computer Name’. Leave the other options in their standard setting and click ‘Start Search’. The tool fi rst loads all the latest security information from the Internet and then checks your computer. This process takes several minutes. The concluding report shows the components that are correctly configured, the updates that are missing and where unnecessary security risks are lurking, are divided into categories.
            Even though Windows automatically takes care of some updates, it is likely that you have still not installed some updates or service packs for Office. For every test result, you can open a website with detailed information using the ‘Subject of Verification’ link. The ‘Result Details’ link shows which settings are right and individual updates that are missing. Here, you will also fi nd links for the required downloads. If service packs are missing, first install these and then conduct the test again. If individual updates are still missing, you can separately install these.

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Comfortably deactivate unnecessary functions(Windows Vista)

            Vista loads a whole lot of functions and system programs on the hard disk during the installation. Many of them are never used but still take up space and possibly even system capacity.

            Deactivate the system brakes. Open the start menu using ‘Start’ and enter the term ‘Optional Features’ under ‘Start Search’. The result appears above the field. Here, right-click the entry ‘Optional Features’ under ‘Program’ and select the context command ‘Run as Administrator’. If the currently used account does not have any administrator rights, you must select one that does in the dialog box and enter the respective password. If you are already working with an account that has the respective rights, a double-click on ‘Optional Features’ is sufficient.
           Windows now collects information about the optional functions and lists them in a ‘Windows Functions’ dialog box – that could take some time. The operating system subdivides those entries that are followed by a plus sign into further sub-functions, which you can activate or deactivate, independent of each other.
          Click on the plus sign for a list of the subordinate functions. Active functions are marked with a checkmark.
          You can now deactivate an entry by removing the checkmark in front of it. You can do this for instance, in the case of games, XPS Viewer, Tablet PC Components, Windows Teamwork among other things. Make up your mind as to which programs you never need. Finally, confi rm your choice with ‘OK’.

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