How to monitor system changes using free computer security software

Posted on October 26, 2008 at 5:23 am

I’ve previously written about WinPatrol, a free program that can be used to monitor your computer for unauthorized system changes. This kind of software is very useful as it’s nearly impossible to tell a new program is added to the startup programs list or when a new key is being added to the Windows Registry.

WinPatrol monitors several important areas of your PC including startup programs, browser toolbars, processes, file type association changes, etc. Another program that you can use to monitor and reverse system changes is Tiny Watcher.

Tiny Watcher is a “tiny” program that helps to keep Windows clean by warning you when there is a change to your system.

Note: This program is not meant for people who know absolutely nothing about computers. The reason is because the program will tell you about ALL changes to your system, whether they are good or bad.

It’s not like an anti-virus program that only warns you when something bad is happening. So if you are installing a normal program like Office, then Tiny Watcher will record all changes to the system, however, there is nothing to worry about.

It’s a good program to run while browsing the Internet or when you are NOT making changes to your system. If a warning message pops up, then there might be a program trying to install without your permission.

It’s also a good program to use if you simply want to record what changes a program is making to your system when it installs. For example, you can run Tiny Watcher and then install a program and go back to Tiny Watcher and see what was changed on your system, such as new registry keys, new drivers installed, new files and folders created, etc.

Once you install it, it takes an initial “snapshot” of your system and then will notify you of any changes afterwards. Here is a list of the critical areas it monitors:

All Windows running processes
Startup registry keys
Service registry keys
Important directories (C:\, Windows, System32)
Other sensitive files (.ini files)
Scheduled tasks

After the snapshot is taken, you can run a scan to determine the differences between your current state and the snapshot state. You can either do a deep scan or a quick scan, but it’s recommended to do a deep scan since it doesn’t take much longer.

Once it finds a change, you can either accept it, remove the change, disable it (if it’s a driver or process) or ignore it.

Overall, it’s a good program for tech savvy people who want to see the nitty-gritty details of what changes are being made to their computer systems! Enjoy!

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