I'm installing "Spybot". It asks me if I want to "create registry backup"

[Bombtrack]

can someone explain to me what approximately that means and whether I should do it?

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. It would be a very good idea

The registry is a part of your operating system where all the programs you install write information detailing your rights to use the program and how windows should deal with the program.

It's important because if your registry becomes damamged it can causes various programs to not work and possibly even the whole Windows system.

[ET Awful]

2. Yes you should do it. The registry

is the list of instructions that tells your computer how each piece of hardware and software should interact with every other piece of hardware and software.

It should definitely be backed up.

[trotsky]

3. I've used Spybot A LOT.

I always make the registry backup - but, I've never needed it. It prompts for that basically because some software has a "phone home" or autoupdate feature that can be mistakenly identified as spyware. So if Spybot finds something like that and disables it, you can put the registry back to restore it.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. That said...

If you remove a piece of spyware that nukes your internet connection upon removal, there are programs out there that quickly and simply restore your TCP/IP registry settings with one click and a reboot.

[trotsky]

5. True

I encountered that once running an old version of AdAware on my aunt's Windows *95* computer. Totally corrupted her TCP/IP stack. I haven't seen Spybot do that yet, though. Fortunately even on that old Win95 box, I just had to walk her thru removing and reinstalling TCP/IP.