[browner]

I recently bought a new laptop which came with XP home SP2 installed on it. I have XP pro on all my other pcs but only with SP1 installed.

I hate all the new security features that take over in SP2 like the annoying boxes which pop up when you try to run downloaded files and the file extension blocking in msn and outlook.

I have tried everything I can think of to disable these features but I cant seem to find a way. The most annoying thing is the file extension blocking in msn messenger which deletes any files i receive with extensions it doesnt like.

I have switched off all the options in the security centre (as i use 3rd party firewalls etc) and stopped the security centre and firewall services from loading. Is there a way to remove all the annoying prompts and warnings which are associated with downloaded files?

I hate it when windows treats a fairly experienced user who can work out if a file is safe or not like a novice. Its like SP2 thinks it knows best.

I would reformat with XP pro SP1 or home SP1 but I dont have a legal cd key for them and i've already had to reformat once to remove all the crap dell installed on my machine.

Theres probably just a little check box somewhere "stop all the annoying stuff from happening" but i've not found it yet.

Please let me know what you guys have done as im sure im not the only one who finds this annoying. Many thanks indeed.