Invasion of Privacy! Big Brother and the Company Hackers

The deeper I delve into Windows security holes, the more clueless Microsoft seems. An arcane feature in XP called Remote Assistance gives control of your PC to another user on a remote computer. Don't get me wrong; this feature is a useful tech tool. The problem is that it's woefully undocumented. And Microsoft enables it by default! It resides on the Remote tab in System Properties.

To disable Remote Assistance

1. Right-click My Computer.

2. Select Properties.

3. Click the Remote tab.

4. Uncheck Allow Remote Assistance Invitations to be Sent from This Computer.

Figure 12.11: Help and support about Remote Assistance

Figure 12.12: System Properties Remote tab