A method of controlling operation of an installed component includes generating auxiliary information relating to the installed component in user space; launching a control program in operating system space for controlling operation of the installed component; and controlling, from the operating system space, the operation of the installed component using the auxiliary information. The installed component can be an operating system component running in a Virtual Private Server, or a component of third party software. The auxiliary information can be, e.g., time stamps, CRC, access control information, function names, function address offsets and function parameter passing information derived from the debug file. The controlling step can patch the installed component. The patch can be version-specific to the installed component. The controlling step can monitor behavior of the installed component. The auxiliary information can be generated based on a debug file/pdb file.