Security

Infopackets Reader Peter S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'd like to add my two pennyworth to your recent article on XoftSpy . I have recently tried out the software and so far have been pleased ... I [also] run Ad-Aware and Spybot regularly and I have ... SpywareBlaster running in the background on my machine, plus a firewall and AntiVirus software. I downloaded XoftSpy in an attempt to get rid of a persistent nasty worm (Dumaru-AM) which the other software failed to solve. I am pleased to say that XoftSpy worked well and picked up several other bugs ... This is not to say that the other programs ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Linda G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read your article on the free Spyware scanning software, ' XoftSPy '. It reminded me of a similar experience I had with a program called PC Bug Doctor. The PC Bug Doctor web site promised to ... scan and repair 'every error on your Computer anytime you need it.' I admit, I was a bit skeptical, but figured it would be worth a shot. Boy was I wrong! Although the program reported over 200 errors on my computer, I had to register it in order to fix them ($40). Mind you, I would have gladly paid the registration fee if I knew what the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Diane D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently found a program called 'XoftSpy' while browsing the 'net. The web site offered a free download to check my PC, so I tried it. After it ran a check, it came up with 97 registry faults, and ... 10 file faults. Can you tell me if you have heard of this program, or even given it a try, and what the results were? I am considering purchasing the full program, but would like to know if there is anything similar that does the same job, and comparisons please. " My response: To be honest, I have never used or heard of "XoftSpy ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Katie' asks: " Why is it that some sites ask that you type in your email address twice using a web form? What does typing in your email address two times have to do with anything? It's simple enough to cut and paste the email ... address into the second line, but a hassle. What do you think? " My response: A web site with a form to enter an email address twice is for the purpose of verifying that you've typed in the address correctly. For example: any web site with a subscription service (via email) would implement this type of verification scheme to limit the number ... (view more)

Are you being scammed? Need to know the definitive answer right now? READ THIS ARTICLE and then come back to this page when you're finished (if you like). -- Infopackets Reader Rupert H. writes: " Dear Dennis, Last Sunday, I saw a one-day sale for a ... Harley Davidson Sportster 883 motorbike on eBay. The seller had around 500 or 600 positive feedbacks. The sale required that you contact the buyer first before you were allowed to bid, and so I did. The seller wanted to do business through a company called Square Trade. I checked out the website and the company seemed legitimate. 'Square ... (view more)

Recall -- Yesterday, I posted a comment on the fact that the new Windows Firewall (present in XP Service Pack 2) does not monitor outgoing traffic. As we discovered, this is especially problematic for Spyware attacks, as it may be possible for a ... Spyware program to extract personal information from your computer and relay it to a third party -- all without you knowing about it. Infopackets Reader Tom M. writes: " Dennis: [in reference to your original article], you mused as to why Microsoft hasn't followed the ideology of full firewall protection. Might I cynically speculate that it may ... (view more)

I'm making oodles of progress in my quest to finish a Failsafe guide on installing XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). The majority of the eBook is completed; all that is left now is to finish off the "post installation" section, make a video tutorial, answer ... 300 emails related to SP2, and put together a mini FAQ (frequently asked questions). A lot of work? You bet -- but certainly not impossible. I really thought I'd have this guide complete last week, but ran into a bit of a delay when I realized that it would be best to streamline a major portion of the book in order to simplify and ... (view more)

Yesterday , I wrote an article concerning a hidden Administrator account in Windows XP. As we discovered, this poses a significant security risk (especially for XP Home users) because it means that virtually anyone can gain unrestricted local access ... to the machine if the Administrator password is left blank. Side note: The term "remote access" means to control / gain access to a computer which is physically housed in another location (typically over a network, such as the Internet). In a similar respect, gaining "local access" to a computer means to utilize the machine at ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Les M. writes: " Dear Dennis, Firstly, well done and many thanks for a most informative newsletter. Today I am writing you because I have a most annoying and frustrating problem with web pages not displaying properly. I use ... Windows XP (Home Edition), and have recently upgraded to broadband (with AOL 9.0) ... [What is happening is that] web pages are loaded through Internet Explorer with at least a paragraph of garbled HTML code at the top, followed by other odd elements of the page scattered randomly, and sometimes repeated 3 or 4 times down the page. I suspected that ... (view more)

Recall -- In Yesterday's Visitor Feedback, Infopackets Reader Marie B. asked how to enable the administrator user account in Windows XP. " I am the only user of my computer which has Windows XP installed. How do I sign into my computer as the ... 'administrator', rather than as my individual name? I understand that administration access is required to make certain changes to Windows. I don't need to adjust anything at this time, but would like to know how to do this in the future (just in case). " In my response to Marie, I suggested that the administrator user account name was disabled ... (view more)