Dennis Faas

Recall -- On Monday, Temple D. told me of a familiar problem with Windows XP and Dialup Networking: " I have just bought a new Dell computer that has Windows XP and I use dial-up Internet. Every time I disconnect from the Internet, my computer ... defaults back to 'Never Dial a Connection'. I've reset it to 'always dial my default connection', hit 'Apply', and 'OK' -- but, when I try to connect again, I get an error message which reads 'No Connection Available.' Subsequently, when I go into Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections, the option 'Never Dial a Connection' has been re- ... (view more)

Die-hard Infopackets Reader Brandon L. writes: " Dear Dennis, Do you have any idea why my taskbar icons have suddenly become so large and 'clunky' looking? The graphics which represent each running program have become very poor quality and I can't ... seem to figure out why this has happened. Do you know of any solution? Take care, and thanks for the great newsletters!" My response: Oddly enough, I found myself in the same predicament only a few weeks ago when I was visiting my mother using her computer. I noticed that her taskbar icons were oddly shaped and also noticed that some of ... (view more)

It's been two weeks since the newsletter format has been changed to include "teaser" feature articles and a link to the rest of the story online. Over the weekend, I received a few disheartening emails with regard to the format change. Gan Soon B. ... in South East Asia writes: " Dear Dennis, I am writing to you to register my concern with the new format of your newsletter. Recently, I noticed that you have switched to a format which require users to go online to view the full contents of the newsletter. I figured that you have a valid concern for using that format, and so I didn't ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Temple D. writes: " I have just bought a new Dell computer that has Windows XP and I use dial-up Internet. Every time I disconnect from the Internet, my computer defaults back to 'Never Dial a Connection'. I've reset it to 'always ... dial my default connection', hit 'Apply', and 'OK' -- but, when I try to connect again, I get an error message which reads 'No Connection Available.' Subsequently, when I go into Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections, the option 'Never Dial a Connection' has been re-enabled (again!). What do I have to do to keep this from happening? ... (view more)

Recall -- A few days ago, I wrote about the latest virus threat which is currently clogging up email mailboxes around the world. In short, the "SoBig worm arrives via email as an attachment; once the attachment has been executed, the worm attempts ... to propagate itself by mass-mailing the contacts it has collected from the host computer [especially through the use of email Address Books / Contact Lists]." SoBig Email Worm Virus The SoBig worm has been an especially dreadful problem for me, since I receive email daily from folks around the world. Whenever someone decides to drop me a ... (view more)

Recall -- In Yesterday's Gazette Newsletter, Dorothy L. told me that her eye sight is not what it used to be, and has a difficult time reading the newsletter without a magnifying glass. I responded to her dilemma by providing two different ways she ... could increase font size in both Outlook Express and Internet Explorer: Change Font size in Outlook Express and Internet Explorer? Today, Leo F. suggested that Dorothy try a freeware program called "Super Magnify", which "magnifies portions of the screen up to 15 times". Leo writes: " The large Font tip you offered Dorothy ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Dorothy L. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am most interested in all the information you provide, however, I suffer from an eye disorder and have a very difficult time reading text. Can you please tell me how I can increase the size of ... the font so that I don't need to use a magnifying glass? Thank you for your attention to this matter. " My response: If you use Outlook Express to view your email, you can increase font size by clicking View -> Text Size -> Largest. If you have a Scroll Mouse (a mouse with a wheel on the top), you can also decrease / increase size of ... (view more)

Candice W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I was hoping that maybe you could help me: I found your website though a search. Lately, I've been getting a bunch of returned emails from people I don't even know, and most of these emails contain viruses ... I ... have written to Hotmail's tech support, but all I get is automated responses telling me that it doesn't pertain to my hotmail account. But, I beg to differ because it is my account, and it's a huge problem! Can you tell me what I can do to get this to stop? " My Response: The problem Candice is experiencing is due to a Virus called SoBig, ... (view more)

I've got some good news and some bad news to discuss in this issue of the Gazette. First, the bad news: Internet Outage Last Week My Internet connection was interrupted last Thursday at around 1PM: only a few hours after initiating the command to ... begin sending out the newsletter. Once the connection was lost, the newsletter stopped sending out and wasn't able to resume until late Saturday afternoon. From the last issue of the Gazette, you may recall that I started a "good-will fund raiser" to help support this web site. In order to entice Readers to show their support, all the ... (view more)

I was asked to provide an unbiased review of a program called WinBackup v1.63 by Li Utilities. OK -- I'm up for the challenge. WinBackup: Installation Installing WinBackup on my Windows XP was simple. After executing the setup file and specifying ... where I wanted the program files installed to, WinBackup completed the installation without asking any further questions. WinBackup: Intuitive Interface Since I'm a self-proclaimed 'Pro user', I decided to shut off the WinBackup Wizard after only viewing the first 3 screens. At this point, I chose to dive into the program blindly, in order to get a ... (view more)