Tutorials and templates for Services

My WindowsXP machine is a stand-alone in my home. I have a dial-up internet
connection.

I notice that there are a lot of services running on my machine that are not
applicable to me.

I assume I don't need things like Alerter(for Administrative Alerts) or
Background Intelligent Transfer Service, which is described as "Transfers
data between clients and servers in the background. If BITS is disabled,
features such as Windows Update will not work correctly." or Terminal
Services:
(Allows multiple users to be connected interactively to a machine as well as
the display of desktops and applications to remote computers. The
underpinning of Remote Desktop (including RD for Administrators), Fast User
Switching, Remote Assistance, and Terminal Server.)

Maybe once or twice a year I might have a client who wants to do an
internet-based meeting, or I might want to log into my computer at my
office.

Is there any place that talks about what these services do, and what the
setup should be for a situation like mine?

I am adamant about NOT wanting any automatic updates! RealNetworks and
Adobe seem particularly agressive about doing massive updates that take over
an hour, and destroy my online sessions, and end up not getting finished,
and I have no control over them except to stop some of my services.

I may have been overly agressive in the past, when I went in to
services.msc, and put something on manual that should have stayed on
automatic. Is there a way to find the defaults? Or again, to repeat my
main question: is there a place I can find an in-depth discussion of these
services, and recommended settings for various scenarios? Obviously,
someone who does online gaming (I do not - that's why I got rid of broadband
and went back to dial-up - to resist the temptation!) will have a different
set of services than I would (yes?no?)

A secondary question:
Is there an easy way, maybe a third party program, that I can use to make
sure that my computer is set up properly on those few occassions, maybe
every year or two, where I might want to join an on-line meeting, or might
want to log on to my computer from my office, or vice versa?

Generally, I want my default to be that no one comes into this computer from
the outside, and nothing goes out from this computer without my specific
instruction. No automatic updates.

Thank you.

"Is there any place that talks about what these services do..."
The internet.

"...and what the setup should be for a situation like mine?"
Only you can make those decisions, based on your research.

Once you've completed your research, you will discover, as most of us
already have, that nothing of value is gained by interfering with your
operating system, but the potential for problems is great if you do.

In all the years I have used Real Player and Adobe Reader I have never
had an update downloaded automatically.

There is no easy way to 'make sure your computer is setup properly'
since there are unlimited number of ways to successfully use a computer.
The only way to make sure your computer is running well is to learn how
to maintain it.
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

Margaret Bartley wrote:
My WindowsXP machine is a stand-alone in my home. I have a dial-up internet
connection.

I notice that there are a lot of services running on my machine that are not
applicable to me.

I assume I don't need things like Alerter(for Administrative Alerts) or
Background Intelligent Transfer Service, which is described as "Transfers
data between clients and servers in the background. If BITS is disabled,
features such as Windows Update will not work correctly." or Terminal
Services:
(Allows multiple users to be connected interactively to a machine as well as
the display of desktops and applications to remote computers. The
underpinning of Remote Desktop (including RD for Administrators), Fast User
Switching, Remote Assistance, and Terminal Server.)

Maybe once or twice a year I might have a client who wants to do an
internet-based meeting, or I might want to log into my computer at my
office.

Is there any place that talks about what these services do, and what the
setup should be for a situation like mine?

I am adamant about NOT wanting any automatic updates! RealNetworks and
Adobe seem particularly agressive about doing massive updates that take over
an hour, and destroy my online sessions, and end up not getting finished,
and I have no control over them except to stop some of my services.

I may have been overly agressive in the past, when I went in to
services.msc, and put something on manual that should have stayed on
automatic. Is there a way to find the defaults? Or again, to repeat my
main question: is there a place I can find an in-depth discussion of these
services, and recommended settings for various scenarios? Obviously,
someone who does online gaming (I do not - that's why I got rid of broadband
and went back to dial-up - to resist the temptation!) will have a different
set of services than I would (yes?no?)

A secondary question:
Is there an easy way, maybe a third party program, that I can use to make
sure that my computer is set up properly on those few occassions, maybe
every year or two, where I might want to join an on-line meeting, or might
want to log on to my computer from my office, or vice versa?

Generally, I want my default to be that no one comes into this computer from
the outside, and nothing goes out from this computer without my specific
instruction. No automatic updates.

Thank you.

Margaret Bartley wrote:
My WindowsXP machine is a stand-alone in my home. I have a dial-up internet
connection.

I notice that there are a lot of services running on my machine that are not
applicable to me.

I assume I don't need things like Alerter(for Administrative Alerts) or
Background Intelligent Transfer Service, which is described as "Transfers
data between clients and servers in the background. If BITS is disabled,
features such as Windows Update will not work correctly." or Terminal
Services:
(Allows multiple users to be connected interactively to a machine as well as
the display of desktops and applications to remote computers. The
underpinning of Remote Desktop (including RD for Administrators), Fast User
Switching, Remote Assistance, and Terminal Server.)

Maybe once or twice a year I might have a client who wants to do an
internet-based meeting, or I might want to log into my computer at my
office.

Is there any place that talks about what these services do, and what the
setup should be for a situation like mine?

I am adamant about NOT wanting any automatic updates! RealNetworks and
Adobe seem particularly agressive about doing massive updates that take over
an hour, and destroy my online sessions, and end up not getting finished,
and I have no control over them except to stop some of my services.

I may have been overly agressive in the past, when I went in to
services.msc, and put something on manual that should have stayed on
automatic. Is there a way to find the defaults? Or again, to repeat my
main question: is there a place I can find an in-depth discussion of these
services, and recommended settings for various scenarios? Obviously,
someone who does online gaming (I do not - that's why I got rid of broadband
and went back to dial-up - to resist the temptation!) will have a different
set of services than I would (yes?no?)

A secondary question:
Is there an easy way, maybe a third party program, that I can use to make
sure that my computer is set up properly on those few occassions, maybe
every year or two, where I might want to join an on-line meeting, or might
want to log on to my computer from my office, or vice versa?

Generally, I want my default to be that no one comes into this computer from
the outside, and nothing goes out from this computer without my specific
instruction. No automatic updates.

Thank you.

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