Dont know what you are trying to do mate but to stop a program, click on the processes tab and then highlite the program you want to terminate (running background processes) then just hit "End Task"
Click on the start bar then click on run type in MSCONFIG click on the startup tab and remove the tick off the program(s) you want to stop running on the start up then click apply, restart your computer and accept any changes.
Yes I would go the sysinternals ProcessExplorer method if you have a problem that needs looking at because you can see all the services that are in the same tree and therefore those it will have an effect on.
Be careful of what service you are stopping though as you might find you will cause additional problems.
This link will give you some insight as to what the services are