download

Fri
01
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Download.com: Not Safe, Not Trusted, And Not Spyware-Free

One of my old Internet friends, Steven Burn , wrote me about finding malware in a program called Kiwi Alpha, which is a peer to peer file sharing client. He found it at Download.com. He also knows I've had bad experiences at Download.com in the ... past. Steven sent me a link to a thread at SpywareWarrior's forums where he had posted his analysis of Kiwi Alpha. It looked bad, but naturally I had to try it for myself. Preparation I created a clean Windows 98 virtual machine using Microsoft's free Virtual PC program. Then I googled for the page at Download.com. I found Kiwi Alpha and installed it ... (view more)

Tue
05
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Google Booksearch Offers Free Book Downloads

The world's bibliophiles have a new place to consume their daily intake of literature as Google Book Search now offers free book downloads available in PDF format. The company announced last week that it will provide free PDF downloads of public ... domain classic out-of-copyright titles that users can view at their leisure. Books that are being offered for download include all titles published before 1923 in the US, and feature such classics as Dante's "Inferno," Aesop's "Fables," Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Ferriar's The "Bibliomania." The PDF download carries a watermark that identifies the ... (view more)

Tue
01
Aug
Dennis Faas's picture

Registry Mechanic: PC Optimization Scorches The Competition

Question: What utility has been downloaded 22,000,000+ times on download.com and a solid 5-star rating from countless reputable tech websites around the world? Answer: PC Tools Registry Mechanic. OK. So what is Registry Mechanic? In a nutshell, ... Registry Mechanic is a super-system-cleaning-utility that no PC user should be without. It streamlines the Windows Registry (a core component of MS Windows), fixes errors, and optimizes the PC for increased performance. Simply put, no other registry cleaning utility on the market has the efficiency and reliability of Registry Mechanic. And because ... (view more)

Tue
25
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Bit Torrent: What is it?

In the world of computing -- especially home computing -- one of the things we enjoy most is gathering new and interesting programs to make a difference in our lives. I suppose it could be considered a cyber extension of the 'Hunter/Gatherer' part ... of us; we go to a download site and browse the lists looking for the one thing that will make our days a little brighter. We find it and click the file we want, and our computers are connected to the server that stores the file -- and eventually, the file is transferred to our system. From there, what goes on is a little more in depth (but it's ... (view more)

Wed
12
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

P2P Crackdown: Spain Makes File-Sharing Illegal

It is a civil (and in some cases criminal) offense to file share over the Internet. And as of Tuesday, June 27th, this is reality for thousands of downloaders in Spain. Recently, the country's Congress passed legislation banning unauthorized ... peer-to-peer sharing of files. The difference between North American crackdowns and those in Spain lies in the aggressive nature of the Spanish legislation. It is a criminal offense for P2P (Peer to Peer) networks to allow downloading, and a civil offense for anyone to engage in this downloading, even for personal use. (Source: tmcnet.com ) Long History ... (view more)

Mon
10
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Critical Updates for Windows and MS Office Announced

Calling some of the bugs affecting Windows and Office "critical", Microsoft today announced that it will be releasing a free update/download on Tuesday to correct such problems. Four updates will be issued for Windows, with three on the way for ... Office. At least one download for each application have been placed in Microsoft's "highest-risk" category, and the company encourages users to make the necessary changes as soon as the updates become available next week. (Source: news.com ) The download itself will be detectable through the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Enterprise Scan ... (view more)

Fri
07
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft 'Kill Switch' for non-WGA Compliant Systems?

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you've undoubtedly stumbled across the term "WGA" -- or more affectionately known as, The Windows Genuine Advantage Program. Reminder: What is WGA? Designed as anti-piracy software by ... Microsoft, WGA is an install designed to check the legitimacy of a user's Windows applications and Operating System. Those whose systems are running pirated software are given the chance to purchase legitimate identification keys or prove that they were duped into buying the illegal merchandise. Those who are victims of piracy dealers -- and can ... (view more)

Thu
18
May
Dennis Faas's picture

Remove SpywareQuake (Removal Instructions): Simplified

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)

Sat
29
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Digital Camera Locks Up During Slideshow

Infopackets Reader Barry H. writes: " Dear Dennis, My camera will not download photos using Microsoft wizard or several photo suits. Oddly enough, the camera works great with other computers. My computer sees the camera as a mass storage device in ... Device Manager, but when I try to download or slideshow my photos, the camera locks up; the camera won't switch off and I have to remove the power source to get it to turn off. Oftentimes when I try to view a slideshow, I only get a partial download and the camera locks up. Can you help? " My response: It's quite possible that you either: a) your ... (view more)

Tue
25
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Is it Safe to Try New Freeware?

How do you know which freeware is safe to download? The fact is that trying out new, free software is sometimes risky. For example: some web sites will purposely mislead visitors by implying that their software is free -- but in fact, the "free" ... software comes bundled with added Spyware or adware . One good rule of thumb is to stick to downloading software from trusted sources (such as infopackets and Clif Notes); but if you're like me and you're always trying out new software on a regular basis, you don't always have the luxury of trusting a source. That's when I break out the big ... (view more)

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