computer

This entry is the second part of a three part series on spyware prevention tips. In the first article , I overviewed an excellent (and free!) tool called SpywareBlaster whose sole purpose is to prevent the installation of spyware on your computer. ... SpywareBlaster is lightweight, easy-to-use, and continually updated. Today I'm going to share a second spyware prevention tip. Are you ready? Spyware Prevention Tip #2 - Stop Using Internet Explorer Fact: Some popular forms of spyware specifically target vulnerabilities associated with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Fact: Internet Explorer has a ... (view more)

How many times have you fixed problems on your computer? By fixing a problem, I don't mean dropping your machine off at the local fix-it emporium, where you will pay big bucks for someone to make decisions for you concerning what your machine really ... needs. I've heard too many stories from acquaintances where they shelled out hundreds of dollars, only to get back a machine that still doesn't run in an acceptable manner. As much as you may resist the idea, computing is still a tinkerer's hobby, where your best chances of a satisfactory relationship with your magic box is to take responsibility ... (view more)

Earlier, I reflected upon Microsoft's "software bloat" which has been driving the computer industry to develop improved hardware at a rapid pace (see: Part 1 | Part 2 ). And the trend has no end in sight. So what about the computer systems of ... yester-year? Will they continue to suffice when Microsoft Windows Vista is released the second-half of 2006? Perhaps; perhaps not. So the question becomes: is it worth upgrading the current system or buy new? Should you decide the latter, what will you do with the computer that's sitting on your desk? To help put things into perspective, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have recently added a 120GB external hard drive to my Dell Dimension computer (via the USB port). Problem: whenever I turn my computer on (to start Windows), the external hard drive always tries ... to boot first. Inevitably I get an error message that 'operating system is not found' and I have to shut off the external unit and then reboot the machine in order to start Windows properly. For this reason, I am curious if my Windows XP crashes, would it be able to boot from the external hard drive? If so, how would I go about doing this? ... (view more)

SpyFalcon 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. SpyFalcon operates in the same manner as SpyAxe and ... SpywareStrike by issuing fake warning messages similar (and almost identical to) Windows Update Notification balloons. Click here for an example. Like SpyAxe and SpywareStrike, SpyFalcon infects the host computer due to an exploit in MS Windows. The exploit can be resolved after infection is removed and after visiting Windows Update Web site. Both steps ... (view more)

Winfixer is also known as: Virtumonde, and Msevents, and more appropriately: Trojan.Vundo. Trojan.Vundo is a component of a Spyware program and is known to be installed by visiting a web site link contained in a spammed email. How To Remove Winfixer ... / Virtumonde / MSEvents Save these instructions to your desktop for later use. Download the Vundo Fix to your desktop. Go to your Desktop; double click VundoFix.exe. Place a check in the checkbox labeled 'Run VundoFix as a task'. You will receive a message stating that VundoFix will close and re-open in a minute or less. When VundoFix re-opens, ... (view more)

Every once in a while, things pop up in the news -- you know, techie things -- that makes the old crystal ball start glowing. Recently, I came across an article in which Samsung announced the development of 16 GB (GigaByte) Flash Chips. Flash chips ... are persistent memory devices that can take the place of hard drive components. The only limitation, up to now, is that the capacity has been 2 GB or less per chip. The Apple Nano iPod uses 16 of the 2 GB chips to store the songs and such instead of a mini hard drive like the older and bulkier iPods of the past. You can read the article here . So, ... (view more)

The past week I've been BOINCing around with a new (to me) program that does a wonderful thing. Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing: an open-source software platform for computing using volunteered resources. Stay with me now, this is ... really very exciting. Remember I've told you before that computers are not very smart, just incredibly fast and able to do the same thing over and over and over without getting bored with the repetitiveness? In fact, most of the time your computer is waiting to do something and it would be quite happy to have something, anything to break the ... (view more)

Synopsis: Need to optimize your computer in a jiffy? Try Intelli HyperSpeed 2005! With only 2 simple mouse clicks, Intelli HyperSpeed 2005 thoroughly scans your system for performance bottlenecks and then adjusts settings based on your optimization ... preference. With 4 custom levels of optimization, advanced CPU and memory handling, network and Internet fine-tuning, and hundreds upon hundreds of specialized tweaks -- Intelli HyperSpeed 2005 is everything you need to maximize your PC, all rolled up into one neat little package! Intelli HyperSpeed 2005: Why Tweaking is Necessary Windows comes pre ... (view more)

So you finally decide you want to purchase your own computer and have it custom built just for you. Reasons for this could be that you don't want all the extra software that comes bundled with major manufacturers such as Dell, or you want to have a ... nice high-end system built with the specs just the way you like it. Here is a little advice based on some of my experiences. Ask yourself the following questions and think about them: What kind of computer do I need? Will it be used only for email and Internet access, or as a business computer or both? Do you have specific applications you want to ... (view more)