StartUp Tuner

In a nutshell, StartUp Tuner lets you see what programs are being launched automatically when you start Windows® and lets you decide whether you want them to be launched or not. In addition to this StartUp Tuner also displays all the entries listed in the Add/Remove Programs application in the Windows® Control Panel and lets you edit and delete them (useful for orphaned entries that no longer serve any useful purpose). In the screenshot below you see the main dialog of the StartUp Tuner.

What are all these programs that get launched automatically?

You've probably noticed that quite a few programs and "services" get launched automatically when you turn on your computer and start up Windows®. The more software you install on your system the more programs get launched automatically on Windows® startup. Nowadays programmers seem to think that their programs are so wonderful that everybody wants to have them loaded all the time, and they set themselves up to launch automatically without even asking you.

Some of these programs, like virus scanners, are genuinely useful, but others just sit there, hogging your computer's resources without doing anything really worthwhile. They use up valuable memory and processor time, and they can even cause errors and system crashes if they conflict with other programs - which is all the more likely with badly-programmed applications that just want to draw attention to themselves.

Programs in the System Tray:

Many auto-launch programs are visible as icons in the System Tray, which is the little box at the right-hand end of the taskbar at the bottom of your screen. Other automatically-started programs are completely invisible - they're running in the background but you never know about them or what they're doing!

Badly-behaved and malicious auto-launch programs and viruses

But that's not all - some automatically-launched programs are annoying or even downright malicious. For example they interrupt you with advice and advertising that you don't want to see, or connect to Internet sites and transfer information or install updates without even telling you, let alone asking you.

Recently there has also been a spate of genuinely malicious auto-launch programs that you can easily install accidentally if you're not careful when you're surfing on the Internet. The best example of these are the "dialer" applications that replace your normal Internet connection with a telephone number that charges you a very high price per minute. But there are also others, like advertising applications that only serve to inform Internet sites about your preferences and activities, and so on. This is where we start to cross the line between programs and viruses.

Control what gets started with StartUp Tuner!

Windows® provides many facilities that can be used to launch programs automatically. Some of them are obvious and easy to locate, others are hidden so well that even experienced users sometimes have trouble finding them.

StartUp Tuner knows about every hiding place. It doggedly seeks out shows you all of the auto-launch programs on your system and lets you decide whether you want them to be run or not. Furthermore, it lets you activate and deactive your auto-launch programs at will, so that you can "turn them on" when you need them and disable them when you don't have any use for them.