Dennis Faas

" Dear Dennis, I recently read your article regarding 'PC won't go into hibernation mode with Digital Camera?', dated November 19, 2003. I have somewhat of a related problem. When I click Start -> Standby, my monitor shuts off and the PC appears ... to go into a low power state, but then quickly comes back to life a second later. Any idea why my computer won't remain in Standby mode? " My Response: There could be a number of reasons why the computer won't remain in Standby mode. If Standby mode is enabled, normal PC operation resumes once an interrupt (such as a key press or mouse ... (view more)

I received a fascinating question the other day from Infopackets Reader John B. He writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read about a new privacy program which is able to hides files inside jpeg image files. My question is: If I downloaded a jpeg file from ... the Internet, can it have a virus hidden inside? The reason why I ask is because I found a jpeg image file in my temporary Internet file folder. When I tried to open it, I was told that the file .exe could not be located. I immediately deleted the jpeg and am worried that my PC is now infected. What do you think? " My response: What you ... (view more)

Since yesterday's article on Tracing the Origins of an Email Abuser through IP addresses, I have received two interesting comments from Readers. The first message comes a user named 'Luvaas', who writes: " Dear Dennis, I suspect that someone has ... accessed my online cell phone account and has snooped around my phone records. I have a pretty good idea who did it, but the phone company tells me that they have no way they can trace this individual. Any ideas? " Side note: IP address stands for Internet Protocol. All computers connected to the Internet have a unique IP address, which is ... (view more)

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article based on the dangers associated with file sharing software (such as Kazaa). In a nutshell, the article explains how file sharing programs compromise computer security and open a gateway to viruses, Remote Access ... Trojans (RATs), and hacker s. At the end of the article, I provided a link to PestScan, which is free program people can use to scan their computers for malicious software -- all through a web browser interface and without having to download or install anything. I suppose it must have completely slipped my mind when I wrote the article, but, I forgot ... (view more)

Over the weekend, I received a fascinating question from Infopackets Reader Ric J.: " Hi Dennis! I just read your email regarding the eBook, 'Email For Newbies v2.1', and have a question about email headers. I know that email headers show persons IP ... address, but, is there anyway that I can find out where a person lives? The reason I ask is because I been having a problem with a person and the only thing I have is the IP address of the individual. Any help would be great; thanks! " My response: The answer is that, yes, you can track the origin of an email to a certain extent -- ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ric J. asks: " Dear Dennis, If I [load Internet Explorer and then] go into Tools -> Internet Options and clean out the History, Temp Files, and the Web Cookies, will that take care of things I might not want [others to] trace ... or pull up [on my computer]?" My Response: Unfortunately, clearing out your Internet History, Temp Files, and Cookies aren't enough to 'clear your tracks', per se. Virtually anyone can hop on your PC and trace where you have been by accessing your Most Recently Used Files history (MRU), such as: Media Player history, Document history (MS ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Lisa C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have upgraded my Windows ME to XP and I can not longer use my Adaptec Easy CD Creator ... How can I get this program to work on this Windows edition? " My response: The short answer is that ... Microsoft did not include something called an ASPI layer for Windows 2000 and XP, which is a required sub-program for many CD burning applications, such as Easy CD Creator. The solution is to download and install an ASPI layer so that your CD drive is recognized and usable under Easy CD Creator. Luckily, I managed to find a program called ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Neal I. writes: " Hi Dennis! I have been reading most of your newsletters since below the 100,000-user subscription level and I find your articles to be very helpful. I may have missed a relevant article, but here is a problem to ... chew on: I have Windows XP Pro with all the Service Packs and updates, and an Epson cx5200 all-in-one printer ... I [have plenty of music that I have downloaded off the 'net and find that Media Player 9 is able to present me with a list of song tracks when I'm sitting in front of the computer, however], I wish to study the play list from the ... (view more)

Betty R. writes: " I have certainly enjoyed the newsletter as it contains very important information that I cannot find anywhere else. Thanks for that, and I have downloaded your eBook to lean how to install a hard drive. ... http://www.infopackets.com/how+to+install+a+hard+drive.htm My problem is that I am trying to set up my computer to act as as game server. To do this, I need to give other users my IP (Internet Protocol) address. Normally this would be an easy task, but my computer is sharing an Internet connection via a router. I have several computer friends in other states with whom I ... (view more)