computer

A new security firm says it has come up with a way to stop malicious software before it reaches a user's computer. The "Isolation Platform" will initially be offered to business users, but remains to be seen how practical the solution is. According ... to makers Menlo, the main problem with most security tools are that they are based around the idea of examining programming code on a user's computer, and trying to determine if the code is malicious. Only if everything appears to be OK is a program allowed to run on the computer. Menlo says that's flawed because malware ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Dave T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently installed Windows 8.1 on my netbook and downloaded all the updates which took almost 2 days to complete. Towards the end there was a slew of failed updates which did not install; one of ... them which was a cumulative patch for Internet Explorer. I read that to fix the issue I need to open a command prompt as Administrator user and then run 'sfc /scannow' to fix the failed updates, but I cannot seem to run cmd.exe as the Administrator user. When I try and run 'sfc /scannow', I get the error message that 'You must be an administrator ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Old Techo from Oz' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have consistently noticed on 3 of my Windows 7 PCs that the C drive appears to bloat over time with 'low space' warnings constantly ... For example, Windows Explorer reports my C drive ... full with 78 gigabytes of data and only 6 gigabytes free. I knew this had to be wrong ... The only solution I have found is to make a disk image backup of my hard drive partition (using Acronis True Image , for example), and then restore the disk image later on. After the image is restored, Windows now reports correct free space available of 37 ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Tina' writes: " Dear Dennis, My monitor keeps going black. It flashes on and then off after a few seconds, then it goes to a black / blank screen. Sometimes I have to power it on and off 20 times before the monitor will work ... properly, and some days, my monitor won't turn on at all! When this happens, my monitor power light stays yellow as if the monitor is sleeping or in standby mode. Normally the power light is green when it is powered on and working properly. Any ideas why my monitor keeps turning off? " My response: There are many reasons why a monitor keeps turning off ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Richard W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I took your advice and purchased Acronis True Image to backup my computer's hard drive (using disk image backups). My question is: how can I be sure the disk image backups are not corrupt and will ... properly restore, if and when I need to do a restore? What is the best way to do a test restore of a disk image backup? " My response: You are not the only person to ask me how to restore a disk image backup -- and it's an excellent question to ask. The simple answer is that you need to run through the entire process of a restore ... (view more)

Tech giant Cisco has warned that a new strain of malware is designed to render a Windows computer virtually useless if it's discovered by security software - effectively executing a boobytrap payload that eventually destroys all user data on the ... hard drive. Cisco says that Rombertik has "multiple layers of obfuscation and anti-analysis functionality" meaning that it is hard to discover and hard to examine. It's able to hide itself from both static and dynamic analysis, which respectively scan a computer's files and its currently active applications. (Source: cisco.com ) ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Alan' writes: " Dear Dennis, My CPU fan is stuck at 100% full load (same as my chassis fan) - and it's very loud. The fans started running at high RPM shortly after I updated my Asus motherboard BIOS. I tried changing my BIOS fan ... controls, but that doesn't seem to work. I also downgraded the BIOS firmware by updating to my previous BIOS version, but that didn't help and the CPU fan is stuck, regardless. So, I called ASUS and they said to replace the BIOS chip. I did this and still no luck. Before all this, I could control fan speeds with Silent, Standard, Turbo, or Manual ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Elaine Y. writes: " Dear Dennis, How can I change my IP address? I ask because every now and again I try and email my friend (with a yahoo email address), but Thunderbird keeps telling me that my IP address is being blocked and ... can't send my email. Any ideas why I'm being blocked? Better yet, any idea on how I can change my IP address so I'm not blocked? " My response: This is a good question and the situation (at least for me) comes up often enough, so it's worth explaining. Also, I couldn't seem to find a single article on the Internet that explains how this happens (at ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bob C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read your CryptoPrevent Review in regard to the CryptoLocker virus. Good job! You are so right with your comment 'If you do become infected [with CryptoLocker], the only 100% fail safe way to ... undo the damage is to restore your files from a backup -- but only if you backed up your files in the first place.' I have a question regarding my USB hard drive which I use for backups. Can you recommend a program that will allow me to disable and enable USB ports that my USB hard drive is plugged into, but still allow my USB keyboard, mouse and ... (view more)

A key PC hardware firm has let slip that Windows 10 will be ready at the end of July. That may not be the date the public will get its hands on the new system, but suggests that Microsoft has taken additional steps towards the final launch date. The ... timeline revelation came in an investor conference call from AMD, one of the leading makers of computer processors. Chief executive officer and president Lisa Su made reference to the company's forecasts - particularly, when it will need to supply processors to computer makers with respect to Windows 10 launch date. "What we also are ... (view more)