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Windows looks about the same every time I startup the computer. The icons on my desktop always look the same, and my Wallpaper only changes on occasion. Even the taskbar has a certain familiarity that's comforting, albeit terribly dull -- no matter ... which version of Windows I use. Recently, I discovered a desktop replacement program called 3DNA, and now using my Windows PC is like a new adventure after every click. What is 3DNA? 3DNA is a three-dimensional (3D) alternative to the traditional Windows desktop environment. The application provides a fully customizable workspace (referred to as a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader "Artsiii" writes: " Dennis, thanks very much for your informative newsletter. Someone told me that every email and Instant Message [IM] I've ever sent has been saved by my Internet Service Provider [ISP] or email program. Surely ... this can't be true? There must be millions of messages sent every day. Isn't this information private? I know I would not like what I have said at one time or another available to anyone. Explain please. Thanks for your help. " My response: Interesting questions. Let me try and break it down. RE: Is information that travels ... (view more)

Removing invalid Windows Registry entries with a Registry cleaner, like Registry Mechanic , helps reduce errors and is a necessary part of keeping the operating system clean. Additional performance benefits can be achieved by eliminating Registry ... fragmentation and compacting the Registry database. Several tools assist in compacting and defragmenting the Registry, including Registry Compactor. What is the Windows Registry? The Windows Registry is a database containing all the information about the operating system and installed applications. The Registry stores information about things like ... (view more)

Betty R. writes: " I have certainly enjoyed the newsletter as it contains very important information that I cannot find anywhere else. Thanks for that, and I have downloaded your eBook to lean how to install a hard drive. ... http://www.infopackets.com/how+to+install+a+hard+drive.htm My problem is that I am trying to set up my computer to act as as game server. To do this, I need to give other users my IP (Internet Protocol) address. Normally this would be an easy task, but my computer is sharing an Internet connection via a router. I have several computer friends in other states with whom I ... (view more)

According to a recent IDC report , "more than 300 million business PCs have a combined 109,000 terabytes of data that is not backed up regularly -- which is about half of all the data on corporate PCs and laptops." That's 10 times the quantity of ... information in the entire Library of Congress! Unfortunately, I know first hand what it's like to lose important data. I never used a backup application until I had a hard drive containing hundreds of hours of writing, music, and video which all vanished in a blink of an eye. If it can happen to an "expert" computer user like me ... (view more)

I visit dozens of web sites daily, and many of them require a username and password. I once used RoboForm to manage my passwords and form field data. Recently, I discovered a program called AccountLogon which organizes my password information and ... protects my data with 448-bit ["blowfish"] encryption -- an encryption level higher than RoboForm Pro (3DES). Side note: A higher encryption level means greater security. In short, it would take a very skilled hacker to "crack" an encrypted 3DES file, and much (much!) longer to crack a 448-bit blowfish encrypted file. What is ... (view more)

Several "clean up" programs on the market today are designed to eliminate Spyware* and other tracking devices after a computer has already become infected. GhostSurf Pro, on the other hand, prevents Spyware from infecting a PC (before it can ever ... take place) and provides a wide array of security features which allows users to surf the world wide web with varying degrees of anonymity. Side Note: Spyware is software which records information about you or your computer usage (without your knowledge) and then relays this information to a third party -- quite often, for marketing ... (view more)

Last week , Rocky R. asked how to turn on the AutoComplete feature found in Internet Explorer. A quick recap: what is AutoComplete? When enabled, the AutoComplete feature remembers (and completes) frequently used form data on web pages. An example ... of a form might be one that asks you a name and password, such as the login form used at Hotmail.com. After providing instructions on how to enable / disable the AutoComplete in last week's newsletter, I furthered the discussion by introducing a dilemma of my own. My problem was that I sometimes have to revert back to an old image (backup) of ... (view more)

Whe w! I've been so busy with the web site change-over that I wasn't able to compose a single newsletter last week. There's lots of new stuff to tell you about -- and it's a bit technical -- so bear with me! I'll do my best to explain it in simple ... English. First of all -- did you notice something different about this newsletter? The format of the newsletter has been completely overhauled and now contains new headers and user subscription information. The new format allows me to write only 1 version of the newsletter, and yet produce 2 separate versions for delivery in either HTML or text ... (view more)

I'm finally making some leeway on the web site transformation. I spent a good part of this weekend working on a web script that is going to completely automate newsletter subscriptions and removals, plus allow me to manage changes in subscriptions ... so that I can *finally* implement a text-version of this newsletter. This solution will give readers the choice of receiving the Gazette twice or three times a week! It took me about 8 hours to figure out how to dereference a multidimensional array which points to another array structure in PERL (a web script programming language). This is pretty ... (view more)