How can I get rid of this?

[Doctor Gallop]

Hi fellas, At the bottom of my screen there is the bar where all the icons are of the applications that are running. How can I take off the ones I don't want there?
If I close some of the programs, the icon of the program will leave, but some of them won't!
Any advice or suggestions?
Thanks

 

[fastco]

Right click on them and exit them. Then click start, run and type msconfig. Click on Startup and uncheck the programs you don't want to start when Windows starts. Carefully!!!

 

[Doctor Gallop]

Right click on them and exit them. Then click start, run and type msconfig. Click on Startup and uncheck the programs you don't want to start when Windows starts. Carefully!!!

Thanks for the post Fastco.
I have been using my bought and paid for, windows XP for 2 years now with no problems and yesterday I find a "blue star" icon at the bottom of the screen. When I run my cursor over it to try to exit it, [there is none], it says: 'You may be the victim of software counterfieting'!
That's the icon I would like to get rid of.

 

[mailpup]

You must have installed the patch from Windows Update. You may have bought your copy of Windows but it's saying your copy is a pirated copy. Short of buying a new, legit copy of Windows, you can't get rid of it unless you reformat, I think.

 

[blue_dragon]

system restore

no need to reform when you can do a system restore to an earlier point

 

[fastco]

Read this:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2006/03/07/bypass-and-disable-genuine-windows-validation-check/