TurboLab.it

Individuazione SSDP (SSDPSRV):
Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network.
Used in conjunction with Universal Plug and Play Device Host, it detects and configures UPnP devices on your home network. For security reasons, disable this service. If any EXTERNAL device does not function because of this service being disabled, place it back in to Automatic. MSN Messenger uses this service in conjunction with supported UPnP devices, to provide support for networks behind a Network Address Translation (NAT) firewall, gateway or router. Also, if you are experiencing difficulty connecting to multiplayer games that use DirectX(7,8,9), place this service to Automatic and ensure you download all security updates. The problem that I have found with this service is that it broadcasts UDP port 1900 “a lot.” If you notice plenty of network activity even though nothing is happening, this service is sometimes the cause.

Manutenzione collegamenti distribuiti client (TrkWks):
Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network.
Maintains links with NTFS files within your computer or across a domain. For example, you could make a file on “Computer A.” You then create a “short cut” or “link” to that file on “Computer B.” If you would move the file on Computer A to a different location, this service would tell Computer B to update its information to allow uninterrupted connectivity.

Routing e Accesso remoto (RemoteAccess):
Offers routing services to businesses in local area and wide area network environments.
Allows computers to dial in to the local computer through a modem (or other devices) to access the local network using a standard or VPN connection. Unless you require this functionality, disable it for security reasons. Upon enabling this service, “Incoming Connections” icon will be available in the “Network Connections” control panel.

Server (LanmanServer):
Supports file, print, and named-pipe sharing over the network for this computer.
Used for file and print sharing from your computer or Message Queuing. For security purposes, you may disable this service if you do not require local printers and files shared across your network. Connectivity, however, still exists even on incoming shared network drives. Workstation needs to be running to connect to another computer that has the files you are looking for.

Registro di sistema remoto (RemoteRegistry):
Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer.

Servizi Desktop remoto (TermService):
Allows multiple users to be connected interactively to a machine as well as the display of desktops and applications to remote computers. The underpinning of Remote Desktop (including RD for Administrators), Fast User Switching, Remote Assistance, and Terminal Server.
This service is required for Fast User Switching Compatibility, Remote Desktop Help Session Manager and Remote Assistance. You will not be able to view who is logged on to a particular computer by viewing the “user” tab located in the Task Manager if this service is disabled.

Smart Card (SCardSvr):
Manages access to smart cards read by this computer.

Windows Media Center Receiver Service (ehRecvr):
Media Center Service for TV and FM broadcast reception. (This service is only available on Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.)

Windows Media Center Scheduler Service (ehSched):
Starts and stops recording of TV programs within Windows Media Center. (This service is only available on Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.)

Network Access Protection Agent (napagent):
Allows windows clients to participate in Network Access Protection.

Indexing Service (cisvc):
Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language.
This service always has been a major resource hog. I never recommend having this service enabled. Remove the function via the Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Components > Uncheck “Indexing Service”. It uses about 500K to 2MB in an idle state, not to mention the amount of memory and CPU resources it takes to index the drives. I have had people (and witnessed it on other people’s computers) report to me that the Indexing Service sometimes starts up even while the system is not idle… as in the middle of a game. You may feel, as I do, that this is unacceptable. If your computer suddenly seems “sluggish,” Indexing Service is usually the cause of it.

Logical Disk Manager (dmserver):
Detects and monitors new hard disk drives and sends disk volume information to Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service for configuration.
This service is vital to run the Disk Management MMC console for dynamic volumes. If you attempt to “Manage” your hard drives and a dialog box pops up complaining about not being able to do this, start this service.

Help and Support (helpsvc):
Enables Help and Support Center to run on this computer.
This service is required for Microsoft’s online (or offline) help documents. If you ever “attempt” to use Help and Support, the service places itself back into “Automatic” and starts even if you already had this service on disabled. “Program Compatability Wizard” located at Start > All Programs > Accessories and “System Information” located at Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools requires Help and Support service to be started (it will start in Manual mode). Each will fire off one process named “helpctr.exe” and System Information will also fire off one process named “helpsvc.exe”. After selecting the “Help and Support” icon in the Start menu, “helpctr.exe” and “HelpHost.exe” processes are fired off. After closing each program, the new processes will exit after around 30 seconds.

NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (mnmsrvc):
Enables an authorized user to access this computer remotely by using NetMeeting over a corporate intranet. If this service is stopped, remote desktop sharing will be unavailable. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
This service may create a big open door for the unwanted. If you are paranoid about security, disable this function. Even if you were not worried, I would still get rid of it. With XP Service Pack 2, the Workstation service was listed as a dependency, but after the installation of Service Pack 3, this is no longer the case.

Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (RDSessMgr):
Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If this service is stopped, Remote Assistance will be unavailable. Before stopping this service, see the Dependencies tab of the Properties dialog box.
Manages and controls Remote Assistance. If you do not want or need to use this feature, disable it. In an idle state, this service sucks up 3.4 MB to 4 MB of RAM.

WebClient (WebClient):
Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify Internet-based files.
I have not found a reason to have this service running. I have a hunch that this is going to be required for Microsoft’s “.Net Software as a service.” For security reasons, I recommend for this service to be disabled. If some MS products, such as MSN Explorer, Media Player, NetMeeting or Messenger fail to provide a particular function, try to enable this service to see if it is “required” for your configuration.

Network Provisioning Service (xmlprov):
Manages XML configuration files on a domain basis for automatic network provisioning.
Home networks do not require this service. This service is installed as part of Service Pack 2 or 3.

Error Reporting Service (ERSvc):
Allows error reporting for services and applictions running in non-standard environments.
Calls home to Microsoft when application errors occur. I personally do not like this. I feel it is a waste of memory and resources.

Net Logon (Netlogon):
Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain.
This service is not required on a standalone system, or for a “home” network. After the installation of Service Pack 2 or 3, this service is set from Automatic to Manual by default.

Portable Media Serial Number Service (WmdmPmSN):
Retrieves the serial number of any portable media player connected to this computer. If this service is stopped, protected content might not be down loaded to the device.
I have not really found a good reason to keep this service always running. I am not aware of anything that actually requires it. Disable it unless something of yours ceases to function properly, such as Windows Media Player, Microsoft’s integration with “Digital Rights Management” and copy protection. After the installation of Service Pack 2 or 3, this service is set from Automatic to Manual by default.

Telnet (TlntSvr):
Enables a remote user to log on to this computer and run programs, and supports various TCP/IP Telnet clients, including UNIX-based and Windows-based computers.
This service is not available on Windows XP Home. It allows remote login to the local computer via the telnet function. For security reasons, disable this unless you specifically require its functionality. You will save about 2 MB of RAM by plugging this security hole. After the installation of Service Pack 2 or 3, this service is disabled by default.

Performance Logs and Alerts (SysmonLog):
Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert. If this service is stopped, performance information will not be collected.
This may be a super geek tool, but I feel that the overhead associated with it is not worth the benefit. You decide.

Themes (Themes):
Provides user experience theme management.
Used to display all those new XP themes and colors on your desktop. If you are memory conscious and do not care about the “new” XP look, disable this service to save RAM. I have observed between 4 MB to 12 MB of RAM used for the new themes.