Nerd Question

[stypee]

Can someone PLEASE explain to me, in idiot language of course, what in the hell is a Registry File? I don't get it - does it secretly store private information about me on my computer or something? When I do a "Clean Up" with my virus software it always brings up how many Registry Files it got rid of and how many it couldn't erase - why can't it erase all the Registry Files if other files can be erased? Stypee is confused.

[Steve T Power]

Your computer's registry is essentially where important bits of info that allow programs to function on your machine are kept. They are instructions and what not that are specific to your hardware.

Viruses and malware like hitting your registry so that they can get a footprint in the "software brain" of your computron.

That's about as simple as I can put it. You need them for your machine to function. Most likely when your malware scanner or virus scanner deletes registry files, it's typically because they aren't associated with any known installed programs or applications on your machine. That could mean they were malicious entries, or it could mean they were remnants of an old configuration, a corrupted install, or previously uninstalled software.

In more recent versions of windows, the registry is typically protected from alteration without permission, which often results in changes being made during an install that aren't being made during an uninstall, so if you're the type who removes programs a lot, you may have a ton of broken links in your registry.

[Attrage]

Don't...praise...the machine...