You don't need to be reminded yet again to keep your virus protection up-to-date or to be cautious about the software you download. But what if you're not sure about the safety of a program you want to run or install? You can attempt a limited installation of any piece of suspect software by using a helpful feature of Windows XP. To safely launch a suspicious program or shortcut, right-click it and choose Run As (see FIGURE 1
In the Run As dialog box, select Current user and make sure that the option Protect my computer and data from unauthorized program activity is checked (see FIGURE 2
When running in the 'Protect my computer' mode, the program is able to read Registry settings, but it cannot change them. In addition, if your hard disk is formatted with NTFS, the program won't be able to alter any files associated with the current profile, including cookies, temporary Internet files, the desktop, and My Documents. Be aware, though, that while this option protects against a potentially harmful program running on your system, it also brings grief to many perfectly healthy applications that need to store settings or files in one of these locations. Consequently, you might want to reserve this trick for dubious applications or those whose origins are iffy or unknown.
Blogger Aaron Margosis has discovered yet another good use for the 'Protect my computer' option: If you need to prevent a particular Web site from leaving data on your hard drive, launch Internet Explorer through this method prior to visiting the site. Note that when IE is running in this protected mode, you won't be able to access any secured sites whose URLs begin with 'https://'. Also, some commands (such as 'Open Link in New Window' on the context menu) may not work.
Another Desktop Trip Tip
In the March column, I described two keyboard shortcuts to the desktop: <Windows>-D ("D" for "desktop") to toggle showing and hiding all windows; and <Windows>-M ("M" for "minimize") to hide windows but not dialog boxes. I said the latter minimizes, but doesn't restore, the windows. Warren Slack of Lakeland, Florida, points out that pressing <Windows>-<Shift>-M brings back the minimized windows.
Put a Lockbox on Your System With Cryptainer LE
If you want to store your data or applications securely, give Cypherix's Cryptainer LE a try. The free program sets up a virtual vault on your computer. Once you make a password-protected Cryptainer file, it appears in Windows Explorer. Work with that secure container as you would any disk, creating folders, dragging and dropping files, even installing applications on it. When you unload the drive or exit Cryptainer, the virtual disk is visible only as a file protected by 128-bit encryption. You can back up or delete the file, but only your password can unlock its contents. You can put secure containers on rewritable CDs and DVDs, as well as on other removable media. Cryptainer LE's encrypted files can be sent as attachments, and you can make the files self-extracting so the recipient needs only the password (no additional products) to open it. Cryptainer LE limits containers to 25MB; as a workaround, you can create multiple secure volumes on your PC. Alternatively, you could upgrade to one of the paid versions, which permit larger containers (2.5GB for $30, 25GB for $45, 250GB for $90). Click here to download your copy of the free Cryptainer.