Registry is the name of Windows hierarchical database, that Windows uses to store options and configurations for a Microsoft Operating System.

The registry contains set-up for components of low-level operating systems and the applications based on that platform. Registry is used by device drivers, the kernels, SAM, user interface, services and all the third party software.

The Windows Registry also enables to access counter which helps in analyzing the performance of system.

At the time registry was first coupled with Windows 3.1, its main aim was to store information on configuration of components based on COM.

The use of registry, with the induction of Windows NT and Windows 95, was expanded to include the organization of abundant INI files for each program whose use was previously made for storing settings of configuration for programs on Windows.

The Registry database has two essentials: keys and values.

Inside keys, Registry Values are stored and they actually represent name/data pairs.

The Windows API functions, querying and manipulating values of registry, get value names in a different way from the key path. They may also use handle which identify the parent key.

Although, the term is a little bit confusing, with values resembling associative arrays, wherein standard definition suggests that a key is the name portion of value.

The terminologies are a proffer from the 16-bit registry of Windows 3, wherein keys did not possess arbitrary pairs of name/data, but instead had just a single unnamed value that essentially needed to be a string.

The biggest advantage of Registry in Microsoft Windows is that it can be edited manually with the help of regedit.exe or regedt32.exe in the Windows directory.

However, sloppy registry editing can lead to a slow Vista or losses that cant be reversed. So, performing registry backups must be the priority, and the same has been advised by the software giant Microsoft and various other professionals, authors and editors of business magazines.

A direct implementation of the current registry tool was seen in Windows 3.x, known as the “Registration Editor” or “Registration Info Editor”.

This was a database of applications primarily used to edit inserted OLE objects in documents.

However, it should be remembered that both the editors have several differences.

An integrated program of these two distinct programs was firstly seen in Windows XP. The operating system embraced the REGEDIT.EXE interface and infused the REGEDT32.EXE functionality into it.

However, the distinctions do not occur with Windows XP as well as the newer versions REGEDIT.EXE being the improved editor and REGEDT32.EXE being purely a stub invoking REGEDIT.EXE.

Following functions can be performed using the Registry Editor:

• Loading, manipulating and unloading registry hive format files (Windows NT-based systems only)
• Setting permissions based on ACLs (Windows NT-based systems only)
• Bookmarking user-selected registry keys as Favorites
• Finding particular strings in key names, value names and value data
• Remotely editing the registry on another networked computer

Registry editing in Linux is also possible by making use of Offline NT Password and Registry Editor for editing files.

Chris Simpson, head of Scotland Yard’s computer crime unit was unpleasantly surprised to learn how easy it is to cheat anybody out of his or her personal info — by means of a fake survey.

This survey wasn’t a scam; in fact, it was an experiment. It was carried out in March for the Information Security show (April 26-28). The results showed that most people casually give out their personal info.

Market researchers questioned 200 people on London streets in a bogus survey on theater-going habits. 92% of those who took part disproved the common stereotype of British as reserved people. They readily gave out personal data, including first school and birth dates, mothers’ maiden names, names of pets — valuable info for, say, cracking passwords. During the survey many people volunteered such key details as name, address and postcode.

The chance to win free tickets was enough for these people to reveal almost everything one might need to impersonate them. By the end of the survey, the fake researchers had everything they needed to take out credit cards in their name and even open bank accounts. These 200 people were lucky — the survey was just a trick. But what if it hadn’t been?

Instead of laughing at naive and unwary Londoners, let’s think whether we all are careful enough with such personal data. Aren’t we sometimes give away information without a clear idea how it will be used — and by whom?

Much cautioned about identity theft and phishing in the Internet, we tend to relax when speaking in person. Most of us will never click links in spam or open attachments if we don’t know who sent the email. We don’t trust letters asking us for sensitive information. We are getting wiser.

We have heard about identity theft plenty of times. We know that good deal of identity theft occurs offline. But all the same, some of us are still far from having good habits such as shredding personal correspondence before throwing it into the trash, or not having the same easy-to-guess password just for everything.

The odds of identity theft online partly depend on such factors as what anti-virus and anti-spy software is installed on a PC and how often it is updated. Software vendors try to develop and provide effective means of defense against information-stealing malware. Of course, much depends on whether the user is careful enough to avoid a phishing scam, and even on what sites he visits — one can easily pick malware while visiting certain websites.

As for plain looking over your shoulder when you are writing something down, digging out papers from your trash or picking some valuable info from a casual talk — nothing will help you if you carelessly scatter information about yourself.

Alexandra Gamanenko currently works at Raytown Corporation, LLC — an independent software developing company that provides solutions for preventing identity theft.

The company’s R&D department created an innovative technology, which capable of blocking information-stealing malware.The company’s anti-keylogging software disables the very processes of information capturing — keylogging, screenshoting, etc.

Learn more — visit the company’s website
http://www.anti-keyloggers.com