John Lister

Here's a question from a long-time Infopackets reader with a fairly common problem: "Dear Infopackets team, I recently updated to Windows 8 Professional and find that I now have a mouse problem. I'm left handed. When using Windows 7, I easily ... configured the mouse so the right-side button operated as the main clicker. Now with Windows 8, I find I must reset the mouse buttons every time I boot up the system. It just doesn't remember. Is there a way to make it stay the way I want it? Thanks a bunch, Werner V." My response: Dear Werner, You can solve this mouse problem. One way is to ... (view more)

Facebook is testing a new messaging system that will cost people $1 to send a message to a stranger. It's designed to deter spammers from using the site to annoy Facebook members, but some analysts have suggested Facebook could also be looking to ... profit from the new system. Right now you can send a Facebook message to another user for free, even if they aren't your 'friend' on the site. However, in most cases, this message will not find its way into the recipient's 'Inbox.' Instead, it will go into a separate message folder marked 'Other.' Because you won't get alerted in the same way as you ... (view more)

Amazon has been hit by a simple but sneaky scam involving bogus "lost item" claims that could lead to difficulty for legitimate Amazon shoppers. The problem was highlighted by web development blogger Chris Cardinal, who received several mysterious ... emails from Amazon about an order for an expensive camera. (Source: htmlist.com ) At first Cardinal assumed the messages were part of a phishing scam, which involves tricking people into providing personal information, including log-in data and passwords. However, upon logging into his Amazon account he discovered the emails were genuine. ... (view more)

A leading consumer magazine has told its readers there is "no compelling reason" to switch to Windows 8. Consumer Reports opines that in most cases only touchscreen users will benefit from an upgrade. The magazine made those comments in a new issue ... filled with computer reviews, among which PCs equipped with Windows 7 received some of the highest ratings. Consumer Reports is not a computer software magazine. However, it is widely read and its reports have a significant impact on the technology industry. In fact, a couple of years ago Consumer Reports recommended users avoid buying Apple's ... (view more)

Here's another probing question from an Infopackets.com reader: "Dear Infopackets Team, Have I missed one of your informative reports? I don't seem to know how to play DVDs in Windows 8? Actually, I can't even find Windows Media Center anywhere, and ... without it I'm stuck! I like Windows 8 so far, but I'm going to feel very frustrated if it won't let me play DVDs on my laptop. Thanks for your help, Frank G." My response: Frank, you're right: Windows Media Center is entirely missing from the new Windows 8 operating system. Fortunately, you can still find a way to play DVDs. Microsoft chose to ... (view more)

The man who hacked into the email accounts of more than 50 Hollywood celebrities has now been sentenced to ten years behind bars. Christopher Chaney was arrested last year by the FBI after a lengthy investigation the agency dubbed "Operation ... Hackerazzi." Chaney was tried and found responsible for accessing and publishing explicit photographs of Scarlett Johansson, along with a number of other Hollywood stars. Johansson agreed to let officials publicize her name in order to draw attention to the case. Another actress and singer whose bare pictures were leaked by Chaney told the court the ... (view more)

Insiders say it now looks as though Google will not be punished for allegedly favoring its own web sites when compiling its search engine results pages. Rival firms are already complaining such an outcome would allow Google to retain an unfairly-won ... advantage over them. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been looking into a series of allegations that Google abused its dominance of the Internet search market by unfairly favoring its own websites when compiling its search results. However, observers say the punishment the FTC could inflict on Google is unclear, even if the regulatory agency ... (view more)

A US Senate committee has approved the Location Privacy Protection Act. It's a bill that would ban the smartphone tools which allow people to track others without their knowledge. The act, introduced by Senator Al Franken, would force companies ... offering smartphone apps to get a phone user's permission before collecting or passing on data about their location. The new rules would also explicitly ban any application that tracked locations without the phone user's knowledge. (Source: govtrack.us ) According to Franken, such measures are necessary to prevent cases of people secretly installing a ... (view more)

Facebook has implemented changes designed to simplify users control over their privacy on the site. The move follows complaints about, and even a government investigation into, the site's treatment of its members' personal data. According to ... Facebook, the changes are intended to improve privacy three ways: giving information when most needed; showing how data will appear; and improving removal of data that is already online. (Source: fb.com ) Privacy Information Easy to Find Because of the changes, you need no longer hunt through settings pages to find the most relevant privacy options. A ... (view more)

Facebook has helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) track down the cybercriminals whose "botnet" is said to have caused losses worth more than $850 million. A total of 29 local FBI offices and departments worked on the case, along with a ... half dozen foreign police and crime agencies. Ten people have now been arrested in the United States, the United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, New Zealand, and Peru. (Source: fbi.gov ) Those accused of participating in the botnet scheme allegedly helped spread a worm virus called 'Yahos.' This virus reportedly self-replicated ... (view more)