Configuring Windows NT2000XP to Clear the Paging File at Shutdown

Configuring Windows NT/2000/XP to Clear the Paging File at Shutdown

Some third-party programs may temporarily store unencrypted (plain-text) passwords or other sensitive information in memory. Since Windows XP is based on the Windows NT/2000 kernel, this information may be present in the paging file, thus presenting a potential danger to the system security. Therefore, users who really care for security may wish to clear the Windows NT/2000/XP paging file (Pagefile.sys) during shutdown, so that no unsecured data is contained in the paging file when the shutdown process is complete.

Note 

This tip is applicable to all versions of Windows NT/2000/XP, starting with Windows NT 3.51. It's important to keep in mind that clearing the paging file is not a substitute for a computer's physical security. Still, it helps to secure your data when Windows NT/2000/XP is not running.

To clear the paging file at shutdown, proceed as follows:

  1. If you are working with Windows XP, start Regedit.exe. If you are working with Windows NT/2000, start Regedt32.exe.

  2. Open the following registry key:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

  3. Find the ClearPageFileAtShutdown value (REG_DWORD data type) and set its value to 1. If this value doesn't exist, create it.

Note 

This change does not take effect until you restart the computer.



Windows XP Registry
Linux Enterprise Cluster: Build a Highly Available Cluster with Commodity Hardware and Free Software
ISBN: N/A
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2000
Pages: 144
Authors: Karl Kopper

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