How to decide: "Allow" or "deny" registry change?

[Davide]

I installed Spybot S&D 1.4 last August, including TeaTimer since it was recommended. Ever since, I often get a notice "Spybot S&D has detected an important registry entry...." I've just learned (searching the forum) that there are "Allow change" & "Deny change" buttons covered up so I can't see them.
So I've always just closed the notice box & soon get the 5-second "Resident/ Registry change denied" popup. For example, this happens when I go to my Web-based email account.
If I follow the forum Advisor's advice--that post was last February, I think--
for making the 2 buttons visible, how am I supposed to know whether to "Allow" or "Deny" the change?
Or should I just disable TeaTimer altogether, reasoning that I don't download anything unfamiliar so I'm fairly safe?

[Zenobia]

Teatimer has it's own help file,which you could view whenever Teatimer pops up.Or,you could view it in the Spybot folder.This is the likely location(if you installed Spybot to the default location,or adjust accordingly if you installed Spybot elsewhere,or your drive letter is not C):
C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\Help
The help file is called English.Resident.chm.
Also,there's the more information button when teatimer pops up.If it has any info about what it's asking you to allow or deny,you'd see it if you click the more info button.
Or,there is more here,including a little bit about what happens when Teatimer detects something malicious:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/faq/33.html

If you'd prefer to disable teatimer and you're not sure how,you can do that by exiting teatimer,then opening Spybot,clicking mode up top,then select advanced mode,click Tools,then Resident,and remove the checkmark from beside Resident "Teatimer".

[donbobil]

If I have denied the registry change how do I undo the denial? Norton A/V has stopped showing some of the system tray icons. I have disabled Teatimer for now.

[md usa spybot fan]

You cannot reverse any Registry change decisions ("Allow change" or "Deny change") that you make with TeaTimer. You have to redo whatever you were doing so that the Registry change is done again (or manually edit the Registry).

[donbobil]

TeaTimer keeps track of the denied entry. Can I use that to do a registry edit? How would I place that entry in TeaTimer so it would not deny the change in the future?

[PepiMK]

When it comes up again, click "Remember this decision" and "Allow".

You cannot change the "memory" of TeaTimer upfront... that would allow malware to do the same, thus navigating around it ;)

[rockart]

Hi Davide,
to fix the covered up fields in Tea Timer, grab this patch made by learned user Murdo.
http://murdo.digitalicedesigns.com/S&D14GUIPatch.zip

Save it to your computer,
unzip it,
copy it into the same folder as TeaTimer.exe
(usually on the C drive : Program Files\Spybot Search & Destroy)
and double click it.
Bingo!

[donbobil]

OK So I turn TeaTime back on and when it traps the next instance of the change I click allow and remember. Right? Since I did not click remember the last time and only closed the pop up I'm in good shape.

Also thanks to rockart for the patch info.

[donbobil]

If I'm using SpyBot do I need programs like Windows Defender and Ad Aware? I also use Norton 7 which is supposed to have filters. Any ideas on this subject?