computer

Infopackets Reader 'Rose' Writes: " Dear Dennis, My question for you today is: how can I make my CD ROM Drive available to users logging in with Administrator rights only? Here's the problem: my kid brother shares the family computer, which has ... Windows XP professional installed on it. He likes to play online games (which are installed via the CD ROM drive); unfortunately, the games he plays seem to crashed the system. As such, I've set up a separate user account with 'general' user access and have disabled the network card so that he cannot access the Internet when using the computer. Now, ... (view more)

SpySheriff is a mock antispyware application that uses fake security alerts to dupe users into purchasing the program. SpySheriff is typically installed through a security hole in MS Windows that automatically downloads a Trojan to your PC. The ... Trojan then issues bogus security alerts in the Windows taskbar. When you click on a fake security warning, SpySheriff is downloaded and installed to the system. SpySheriff also locks the Windows desktop to a black background with a warning message stating that "your computer is at risk." How to Remove SpySheriff (Removal Instructions) Below ... (view more)

SpywareQuake is the latest rogue anti-spyware program that dupes unsuspecting users into registering (paying) for a full version of the program in order to remove a supposed Spyware infection. SpywareQuake operates in the same manner as SpyAxe and ... SpywareStrike by issuing fake warning messages similar to Windows Update Notification balloons. Click here for an example. Like SpyAxe and SpywareStrike, SpywareQuake infects the host computer due to an exploit ("bug") in MS Windows. This exploit *must* be resolved by visiting Windows Update after SpywareQuake is removed; otherwise, you ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ken H. writes: " Dear Dennis, In the device manager, all of my DVD and CD-ROM devices won't work. Device Manager states that 'a driver for this device was not required and has been disabled (Code 32)'. Question: how can I get ... these devices to work again? I have uninstalled them and restarted the computer to let it find new drivers but that didn't work. I have scanned my PC for viruses and am clean. I have also researched this topic in Google and found a post which states that this error message can appear if you have Roxio Easy CD Creator (which I do). The post suggested a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ken H. writes: " Dear Dennis, In the device manager, all of my DVD and CD-ROM devices won't work. Device Manager states that 'a driver for this device was not required and has been disabled (Code 32)'. Question: how can I get ... these devices to work again? I have uninstalled them and restarted the computer to let it find new drivers but that didn't work. I have scanned my PC for viruses and am clean. I have also researched this topic in Google and found a post which states that this error message can appear if you have Roxio Easy CD Creator (which I do). The post suggested a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader "Jessie" writes: " Dear Dennis, I play Yahoo pinochle quite often. Someone recently told me that they could track my ISP from inside the game room; I assume this could be done by clicking on my name while I'm in the game room. ... What kind of program would they use so that I can block my ISP to it and/or track their ISP? Thank you. " My response: Just to clarify: ISP means Internet Service Provider. For example: Bell Sympatico provides DSL Internet access to its customers. On the other hand: IP means Internet Protocol. Additionally, an IP Address is a number (like a "mailing ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bev C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I laughed out loud when the subject line of your newsletter, ' Dusting the Computer from the Inside? '. The funny thing is that I just dusted the inside my computer last night -- literally! As it ... turns out, HDD Health (freeware), alerted me late yesterday with a warning that my hard drive temperature was close to critical. So I shut down, opened case and left it to cool. Later on, I inspected the inside of the computer case. That's when I noticed that dust had built up (considerably) on my power supply vents and on my CPU. In fact, darn near ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Susan C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I love your newsletters ;-) Question: I am using Windows ME and tried to restore my computer to an earlier time using System Restore; however, the problem is that the computer keeps telling me to ... pick a earlier date on the calendar than what is available. For example: I can bring up the calendar to choose which restore to use, but the only option I have available is for December 1999. I have used system restore before, but for some reason it's now gone awol and won't let me pick another date. Is there any way that I can restore my computer to ... (view more)

Do you care if you get hacked? You should! Just think about all the things you do with your computer. At the very least, I would bet you use it to send e-mail, and surf the web on a regular basis. In fact, if you're anything like the average ... computer user, you probably use the Internet to buy gifts, manage your stock portfolio, and even pay your bills online. So what if your computer became compomised by a hacker? In that case, it's safe to assume that everything you do with your computer is no longer private. Not only that, but depending upon the sophistication of an attack, a hacked ... (view more)

This is the third and final part in a series on spyware prevention tips (access part 1 and part 2 here). So far I've shared two tips that deal with specific pieces of software; the first tip was the use of an excellent (and free) tool called ... SpywareBlaster . This tool lives, eats, and breathes to protect your computer from the installation of spyware. In the second tip, I overviewed security risks associated with Internet Explorer and recommended using Mozilla Firefox as an alternative browser. Today I'm going to share what is undoubtedly the single most important thing you can do to protect ... (view more)