AutoStartupFixer

Right before reaching the desktop, Windows starts its services so you have everything available in short time. Third-party applications can also be configured to run with Windows, while other forcefully do this, without other options. Luckily, you can use specialized programs like AutoStartupFixer to keep potentially malicious services and programs to run at startup.

When the application runs, the configuration window shows up, so you can take a look over the areas it can manage, and how. In case some rules you configure don’t go according to plan, you can always reset everything to start over. However, nothing happens until you enable the fixer.

This component is an application service that runs in the background, and manages startup options according to preferences you set. This can mean blocking everything for a clean startup, block according to MD5 checksum, automatically block invalid or missing links, as well as potentially harmful content.

There’s a neat extra option you can use so the application automatically connects to an online community database, where users like yourself decide whether or not a process is harmful. This way, the application automatically takes care of known processes running on your computer, without any effort on your behalf.

On the other hand, you can disable all automated processes to take matters into your own hands. Doing this allows you to decide for each detected process. A small prompt is brought up when a new item is detected, letting you block, deny, permanently block, or rely on the community for help. This is done from a process running in the background, meaning you only have to go through configuring the application once.

All things considered, we come to the conclusion that AutoStartupFixer is a powerful application that can keep your computer safe from those programs that just keep on starting with Windows, regardless of your actions. It’s based on a large online community, but you can also decide yourself what stays and what goes.