Thread: Avoid interruptions

Although this doesn't quite fall into the category of pure speed, you may find that avoiding some annoying interruptions speeds up your personal performance. First, if you're the sort of person who never wants to 'Please tell Microsoft about this problem' after an application misbehaves, then you can turn this feature off. In XP, go to System Properties, Advanced, then click the Error Reporting button. You can turn off reporting for Windows, applications or both, with the additional option of still being notified of critical errors. Note that error reporting can be helpful some users have received feedback to help solve their problem. Vista users need to go to Control Panel, Problem Reports and Solutions, Change Settings where they'll find more options under Advanced Settings.

Another annoyance is that every time you open a Microsoft Office file, it's scanned for viruses. It can be irritating if you are only opening files that you have created on your own computer. Most virus checkers have a way to turn this off. If you're using AVG Free, then run the Setup.exe program from the AVG program folder. This will give you the option to disable the Office plug-in. If you're using Norton Antivirus, open the Norton Protection Centre and click on Norton Antivirus, then Settings. Under Additional Options, click Virus and Spyware Protection Options, Miscellaneous. Clear the checkbox next to 'Turn on scanning for Microsoft Office Documents'. There is an element of risk here, but with any good anti-virus program you should be able to scan a suspect file on demand, before opening it in Office.



If you're running Vista with administrator status, you've no doubt come across User Account Control (UAC). One way of looking at this is that even if the user has administrative status, the programs that the user is attempting to run may not have. In a worst-case scenario, malware may be attempting to hijack the system. So, typically, when an administrator tries to run the System Configuration utility (msconfig.exe) or even a command prompt, the screen will darken and a dialogue appear, stating that 'Windows needs your permission to continue'. In a situation where a: large number of users are involved this is undoubtedly useful. But anyone who is just using a PC at home might want to disable UAC. This can be done from Control Panel, User Accounts. The downside is that there is an element of risk and Vista will nag you with security alerts from the System Tray icon.