How to intercept registry or memory key?

Question

How to intercept a registry or memory key while for example I am changing the Google Chrome window size? Is there a soft/freeware I can use that would list changes I am making in the computers memory / registry?
More specifically I am collapsing and expanding a tree view in a Excel's VBE Project Explorer and I would like to know what data is getting changed so I can programmatically manipulate it afterwards

Answer 1

Here are some useful utilities you can use:

1. Process Monitor:

   Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity. It combines the features of two legacy Sysinternals utilities, Filemon and Regmon, and adds an extensive list of enhancements including rich and non-destructive filtering, comprehensive event properties such session IDs and user names, reliable process information, full thread stacks with integrated symbol support for each operation, simultaneous logging to a file, and much more. Its uniquely powerful features will make Process Monitor a core utility in your system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit.

   

2. WinSpy++:

   WinSpy++ is a handy programmer's utility which can be used to select and view the properties of any window in the system. WinSpy is based around the Spy++ utility that ships with Microsoft Visual Studio.

   WinSpy++ can obtain the following window properties:

   • Window Class and Name
   • Window procedure address
   • All window styles and extended styles
   • Window properties (set using the SetProp API call)
   • Complete Child and Sibling window relationships
   • Scrollbar positional information
   • Full window Class information

   

3. Window Detective:

   Window Detective is a programmer's tool used to "spy" on an application's windows and allows you to view and even modify some of it's properties.

   Key features of Window Detective include:

   • View properties of windows such as text/title, dimensions and styles
   • Set properties such as text/title, dimensions and styles
   • View all windows in a tree hierarchy of parent/child windows
   • 'Pick' windows to inspect using the mouse
   • Advanced search which allows you to find windows that match specified criteria
   • Listen for window messages sent to a window
   • "Smart Settings" that intelligently remember user settings such as window positions

   

4. AutoIt Window Information Tool:

   AutoIt v3 comes with a standalone tool called the AutoIt Window Info Tool (AU3Info.exe). AU3Info allows you to get information from a specified window that can be used to effectively automate it. Information that can be obtained includes:

   • Window titles
   • Text on the window (visible and hidden)
   • Window size and position
   • Contents of the status bar
   • Position of the mouse pointer
   • Colour of the pixels underneath the mouse pointer
   • Details of the Control underneath the mouse pointer

   

5. Regshot:

   Regshot is an open-source (LGPL) registry compare utility that allows you to quickly take a snapshot of your registry and then compare it with a second one - done after doing system changes or installing a new software product.

   

6. RegFromApp:

   RegFromApp monitors the Registry changes made by the application that you selected, and creates a standard RegEdit registration file (.reg) that contains all the Registry changes made by the application. You can use the generated .reg file to import these changes with RegEdit when it's needed.