Windows 7 - exclude programs from start menu list?

This worked in XP and Vista but doesn't seem to work in Windows 7. I searched the registry for unwise.exe (since it is excluded from the start menu recent programs) and found it in two places:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileAssociation
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FileAssoc iation

I added the name of the program I'm trying to exclude in to the AddRemoveApps value and then rebooted the machine. The program still appears on the start menu after I run the program again.

The Remove From This List option only temporarily removes the item and it will show back up after it's been used again.

I also tried adding a new string value named "NoStartPage" to the Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\ProgramName.exe key.

If anyone has figured out how to work around this issue in Windows 7 please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Scott

What is the program? Is it seen in 'Services'?

I'm trying this with Opera so the filename is opera.exe and no, it doesn't show up as a Service but does show on the Processes tab.

It's really strange because nearly everything that I've read says to add the file name to the AddRemoveApps value and that worked in both XP and Vista. Just to rule it out, I tried both upper case and lower case (the filename is in lower case in the properties) and that didn't make any difference.

So Opera has decided to make itself your default browser? Have you set your 'default' programs?

No, Opera is not my default browser. I always leave that as IE, even though I install Opera, Firefox, and Chrome. Just to be sure that nothing had changed I did verify that IE is still the default browser in the "Set Program Access and Computer Defaults".

The problem I'm having is that I have certain programs that I don't want to appear on the Recent Programs section of the start menu and I am trying to figure out how to do this in Windows 7. I've made all of the registry changes that I've described, removed Opera from the recent programs list (using the right click menu), rebooted the machine, verified that it's not on the list, started Opera, and then it's back on the list. My goal is to be able to start Opera and it not show on the recently used programs list.