pc

Do you use Norton Security or an "all-in-1" solution to protect your PC? You might not want to after you read this: Infopackets Reader Mike L. writes: " Dear Dennis, My problem is that I'm a relatively naive computer user and have -- for some time ... now -- depended on Norton's 'all in one' security package (firewall / anti-virus / anti-spam) to blanket my PC from Internet nasties. A friend told me that Norton tends to configure a PC to best meet their own specifications, and that this causes periodic corruptions. Can you point me to information about the best way for a less than ... (view more)

Isn't that sweet. Just when you get the impression that no other company -- even a partner like Novell -- can cooperate with software giant Microsoft, along comes Dell. It appears this new relationship has spawned offspring, in the form of one ... heckuva powerful custom-built PC. It's part of Dell and Microsoft's celebration of the Vista release, and either signifies future joint endeavors, or that MS simply pays hardware producers handsomely. Regardless of your feelings towards either company -- whether you're anti-Windows, anti-Internet Explorer, or even anti-Dell -- the two have certainly ... (view more)

Have you ever taken a good, long, hard look at everything stored on your computer? Chances are there are heaps of redundant and unnecessary files that are taking up valuable disk space and cluttering up your file system. Why are they there? What's ... their purpose? And how in the world did they get on your PC in the first place? If you've owned a computer for any length of time, you have inevitably downloaded, installed, and later gotten rid of program after program. What you may not realize, though, is that uninstalling a program often leaves you with "leftovers." Now, you'd think that the " ... (view more)

I don't know if I'd ever mentioned this here, but I have a job online answering email support questions for a large community website. My cohorts and I have a set of standard answers for the most commonly asked questions. We have a web page where we ... keep a copy of these so that we can paste them into emails while we answer users questions. The problem: I had been thinking that there must be an easier way to quickly paste in answers rather than going to the support page constantly and browsing through it for the right answer to place in the emails. The solution: When it comes to doing things ... (view more)

Microsoft Virtual Pc 2004 Virtual PC for Windows is a client based software virtualization application that allows you to simultaneously run multiple operating systems on a single PC. Each virtual machine emulates a complete hardware system -- from ... processor to network card -- in a self-contained, isolated software environment, enabling the simultaneous operation of otherwise incompatible systems. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/default.mspx Peacefire Peacefire is a website that contains instructions for getting around blocking software, including an interesting program called ... (view more)

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)

[Continued from: Firewalls: Definition | Firewalls: A Brief Discussion ] Because of my need to test everything I share with the infopackets audience, I have spent a great deal of time evaluating various firewall packages. This kind of testing takes ... a lot of time. Installing each firewall and letting it work while I monitor it isn't hard work or anything, but it does take time -- sort of like watching grass grow, if you know what I mean. ;-) The process I followed included installation and configuration as well as some time to allow the firewall to actually do its intended job. That last part ... (view more)

Folder 2 My Pc Add folders and programs to My Computer and Control Panel namespaces. http://eng.softq.org/Folder2mypc Dvdotnet DVDotNet is software to stream and archive live video sessions using the Microsoft Windows Media format, and provide ... access to those archives via a Podcast for use with iTunes and the iPod Video. http://www.merage.uci.edu/~dvdotnet/ (view more)

Infopackets Reader Robert G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I've been a fan of your newsletter for quite some time. Thanks for that! Question: at the end of the day, is it best to log off and keep the computer running and ready for the next time it is used, ... or should I shut it down completely and power off? I've heard different variations on the answer to this age-old question. If I leave it running, the fans are always spinning, which causes wear and tear. What do you think? " My response: Good question! I personally always leave my laptop running 24 hours a day because I'm always using it (I'm ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Les M. writes: " Dear Dennis, In December 2003, I purchased a copy of Windows XP Home Edition as part of an upgrade to my PC (main board, processor, RAM, etc), from a local dealer in the UK. This software cost me over $100.00 US ... dollars. During the subsequent time, I have on several occasions had to format my hard drive and reload Windows, due to otherwise insoluble problems. As you probably already know, every time a fresh copy of Windows XP is reloaded, you are required to activate it online within 30 days. Two or three days ago, I switched on my PC as usual and waited ( ... (view more)