WinPatrol, one of my favorite free tools, gives me a lot of protection for Internet Explorer. It’s also a great way to control which programs start up automatically on my computers.

It gives me the ability to disable programs from starting when I start Windows without actually removing the code that would make them start! In other words, I can turn off the auto-startup on a program-by-program basis.

If I change my mind about one I’ve prevented from starting, it’s as simple as opening WinPatrol and putting a check in the startup box for that program.

Of course, I can easily completely remove the program from the auto-startup list, too.

Read more about how to protect your web browser and control which programs start automatically when you boot — in my Web Browser & Startup Programs Protection article.