system

Die-hard Infopackets Reader Paul B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have been a faithful subscriber to your newsletter for a few years now. While I immensely enjoy reading your articles (especially the software reviews), I am constantly second-guessing ... myself as to which utilities *I* need to keep my system running smoothly. As a newbie, I would like to know how many of these 'fix all programs' are really necessary? For example, which utilities do I need for: speeding up, uninstalling, defragging, anti-Spyware, anti-spam, firewall, anti-virus, registry cleaning / fixing... etc. I mostly use my ... (view more)

As a long time UNIX Systems Administrator, I enjoyed the ebb and flow of data processing in a rather intense world of Commercial UNIX. Working with operating systems with names like AIX, Solaris, HP/UX and Irix, I was surrounded with a complex but ... orderly set of environments that although similar at first glance, were fascinating in their strengths and differences. Each was UNIX at the very basic core, but the different philosophy and approach of each vendor made working with each one an interesting experience. And I mean that in a good way! When I discovered Linux in 1994, I had no problem ... (view more)

Synopsis: Unwanted temporary files build up over time as a result of daily computer use and Internet surfing; if left unchecked, these files can clutter up your hard drive and cause a significant deterioration in system performance. 4Diskclean Gold ... is an award winning collection of tools designed to optimize system performance, and keeps your computer running like new. 4Diskclean Gold deletes all sorts of unneeded files, including: temporary data, old backups, duplicated files and DLLs [Dynamic Link Libraries], all files viewed in Web browser and stored in browser cache, the history of URLs ... (view more)

Malware programmers frequently strap their rogue software (Spyware) into key sections of the Windows boot process. By doing so, the writers ensure they can keep their software running in hopes of maintaining control of your system. An excellent way ... to prevent these types of attacks from bypassing your security layers is to install a startup manager. Startup managers monitor specific sections of your system for anything newly installed, or that might pose as something out of the ordinary. When something tries to insert itself into your system, an alert will be triggered to ask if you want to ... (view more)

Today's article was submitted by Bill Hudgins and is the 1st Place Winner of our Editorial Contest . The original article was put forward by one of our contributors (Sheila Foss), only a few days before the contest began. With Sheila's permission, I ... edited the article to include erroneous mistakes and later used the composition as the inspiration for the contest. If you would like to compare the contest article before reviewing the winning submission [below], you can do so by clicking here (recommended). Without further adieu, here is the Bill Hudgins' version of the article, "Make it a ... (view more)

Today's issue of the Gazette is a synopsis of what's been happening with our web site. On November 25th , I wrote an article which asked for volunteers to edit article submissions from our team of Bloggers . The response to that article was so ... strong (with over 120 candidates volunteering to lend a hand), I decided on November 30th that it would be best to host a contest for a seat in our Editing Team. The contest was simple enough: edit a sample article and correct it to the best of your ability. The contest deadline was very brief and ended December 5th (lasting only 5 days); as expected, ... (view more)

In computing, the Windows registry is a database which stores settings and options for the operating system for Microsoft Windows 32-bit versions. It contains information and settings for all the hardware, software, users, and preferences of the PC. ... Whenever a user makes changes to "Control Panel" settings, or file associations, system policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in the registry. As time goes on, an aged Windows installation can have a very large registry database. This can slow down the computer's startup and has led to frequent criticisms that the ... (view more)

The posting today is more of a 'grab bag' than anything else. Mainly because I have had many little things come across my desk that deserve to be passed on but not enough information to make up a full post. First off, Open Office. There is a new ... release of the Open Office office suite, Version 2, and it is a corker. If you want or need an office suite for Windows, Linux (any distribution), UNIX (almost any flavor), or the Mac, this is the one to download. There are many goodies in the package and it works like a dream! Database, word processing that also does web pages, spreadsheet, ... (view more)

There are so many different types of anti-spyware tools out there, that it's a daunting task trying to figure out which will work best. Is anti-spyware protection best with real-time registry monitoring tools (as with Spy Sweeper) -- or not? You may ... recall that, whenever a program is installed on (or removed from) your computer, changes are typically made in the System Registry simultaneously. By definition, a registry monitor tool will watch for changes made to your registry as a result of adding or removing, and will prompt you to either accept or deny those changes. This is a good way to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jeff S. writes: " Dear Dennis, This is not so much a question, but a comment. Several weeks ago I picked up a 120GB Maxtor Hard Drive at Best Buy. I decided to use this drive for backing up my digital pics, MP3's, downloads, etc. ... I also wanted to use the new drive to backup my operating system, but totally sure which one was right for me. I borrowed a copy of Norton Ghost from a friend, installed it on my system, but wasn't too impressed with the interface (I found it difficult to understand); I also thought the price was a little too high (at $69.99 retail). It was at ... (view more)