Most power users know about the ‘msconfig’ utility which ships with Windows and allows you to configure many of the system level parameters. One of the more well known functions it performs is the enabling and disabling of startup programs. For more advanced control of the startup programs and processes, take a look at a couple of freeware programs:

• Startup Control Panel - Identifies where startup programs originate and allows you optionally configure  (or delete the entry altogether) whether or not they startup when your computer does.
• StartupMonitor - A small program which runs in the background and notifies you whenever a new startup process is registered. This is a great utility for catching malware and other nasties from burying themselves in your system.

While there are tons of other programs out there which do similar functions, these are just a couple you might want to take a look at.