Windows Task Manager - Windows Vista Changes

Windows Vista Changes

Windows Task Manager has been updated in Windows Vista with new features, including:

• A "Services" tab to view and/or modify currently running services and start and stop any service as well as enable/disable the UAC file and registry virtualization of a process.
• New "Image Path Name" and "Command Line", and "Description" columns in the Processes tab. These show the full name and path of the executable image running in a process, any command line parameters that were provided, and the image file's "Description" property.
• New columns showing DEP status and virtualization status. Virtualization status refers to UAC virtualization, under which file and registry references to certain system locations will be silently redirected to user-specific areas.
• By right-clicking on any process, it is possible to directly open the Properties of the process's executable image file or of the directory (folder) containing the process.
• The Task Manager has also been made less vulnerable to attack from remote sources or viruses as it must be operating under administrative rights to carry out certain tasks, such as logging off other connected users or sending messages. The user must go into the "Processes" tab and click "Show processes from other users" in order to verify administrative rights and unlock these privileges. Showing processes from all users requires all users including administrators to accept a UAC prompt, unless UAC is disabled. If the user is not an administrator, they must enter a password for an administrator account when prompted to proceed, unless UAC is disabled, in which case the elevation does not occur.
• By right-clicking on any running process, it is possible to create a dump. This feature can be useful if an application or a process is not responding, so that the dump file can be opened in a debugger to get more information.
• The Shutdown menu containing Standby, Hibernate, Turn off, Restart, Log Off and Switch User has been removed.
• The Performance tab shows the system uptime.