Brandon Dimmel

Two men claiming to belong to the loosely-organized international 'hacktivist' group Anonymous have now been sentenced to jail terms in England. The men were convicted of carrying out distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks in support of ... WikiLeaks. The convicted men include 22-year-old Christopher Weatherhead and 28-year-old Ashley Rhodes. They were found guilty of conspiring to impair the operation of computers. Weatherhead received an 18-month jail term, while Rhodes was sentenced to seven months behind bars. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) PayPal 'Stung' by DDoS Attack According to British ... (view more)

Several prominent privacy groups say they're now concerned about the amount of user information that Skype, purchased by Microsoft in October 2011 for $8.5 billion, is collecting and sharing with other parties. In a recent open letter to Microsoft ... officials, a large number of privacy groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Reporters Without Borders, and GreatFire.org, have pressed Microsoft to publicly discuss exactly how much Skype user information it currently shares with third parties. The letter makes clear that those third parties to which Microsoft is handing private ... (view more)

Clementine Music Player 1.1.1 Clementine is an absolutely free-to-use music player software for Windows computers. It features a comprehensive -- and easily comprehensible -- user interface that makes navigating your music library and playing ... whatever audio files you want extremely easy. You can download the latest version (1.1.1) and try it from the link below. http://www.clementine-player.org Ad-Blocker for Gmail 2.8.1 Gmail is a free and very popular web-based email program for Windows computers. However, it presents its users with a lot of advertisements. If that bothers you, check out ... (view more)

"Hi Infopackets, I recently bought Windows 8 and naturally want to learn more about the new applications that come with it. In particular, I'm a huge fan of social media and would love to find out more about the new People app. Who better to explain ... it all than you, who have been helping me understand the computer world for half a dozen years. Thanks! Mary B." My response: Great question, because Windows 8's new People app is one of the more exciting features included in Microsoft's newest operating system. People App: A Central Hub for Social Media Basically, the new People app is a social ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced its Surface Pro tablet computer will be available for purchase in the United States and Canada starting Saturday, February 9, 2013. The Surface Pro is an enhanced version of the standard Surface tablet PC that Microsoft ... released late in 2012. The original Surface, called the Surface RT , runs Windows RT, a trimmed-down version of Windows 8. Priced at $499 (and up), the Surface RT's hardware specifications include 16GB or 32GB of main storage, 2GB of RAM, and an ARM-architecture processor. Surface Pro: Core i5 CPU, Windows 8 Pro The Surface Pro, by contrast, includes ... (view more)

EditBone 4.6.1 EditBone is a powerful and easy-to-use text editing tool for your Windows-based computer. It supports more than fifty different languages and allows you to choose from twenty-two different interface styles. The maker of this tool, ... bonecode, has posted screenshots of the program for you to view prior to downloading the software. http://www.bonecode.com MadAppLauncher 1.8 MadAppLauncher is a simple and convenient tool for quickly and efficiently launching applications on your Windows computer. Customization options allow you to launch multiple files with just a few keystrokes. ... (view more)

Kim Dotcom, the founder of the controversial file-sharing site Megaupload, has launched a new cloud storage-style website. Unfortunately for Dotcom and his supporters, the new site is running into some early technical difficulties. Megaupload, you ... may remember, allowed its 150 million active users to upload and download all kinds of digital files. Authorities took Dotcom to court, however, arguing he should have done more to prevent Megaupload visitors from illegally sharing copyright-protected material. As a result, Megaupload was forced offline. "Mega" Too Popular for Own Good ... (view more)

If you have trouble devising and then remembering complex, secure passwords for your many online and offline accounts and services, Google may soon provide you with an attractive solution. The search giant is reportedly investigating physical ... password devices, including objects like USB cards and smartphones. In a recent research paper submitted to the IEEE Security ... (view more)

DiskMax 4.6 DiskMax is a hard drive management tool for Windows computers. It's designed to help you reduce the clutter of unwanted and unneeded files that may be stored on your system, thereby improving overall system performance. To do this, ... DiskMax automates such basic functions as recycling bin clean-outs, and periodically removes the computer's temporary Internet files, plus more! www.koshyjohn.com RogueKiller 8.4.3 RogueKiller examines the active processes on your Windows computer and kills any processes suspected of carrying out malicious or dangerous activities. This free program is ... (view more)

Upgrading from an older Microsoft operating system (OS), like Windows 7, to Windows 8 is about to get a whole lot more expensive. The changes are set to take effect on February 1, 2013. Right now, it costs just $39.99 to upgrade from Windows 7, ... Windows Vista, or Windows XP to Microsoft's newest OS, Windows 8. People who tried beta versions of Windows 8 can also upgrade from that test edition to the commercial release of the new OS for the same price. This promotional price was first announced last July, several months prior to Windows 8's October 2013 launch. (Source: zdnet.com ) Upgrading ... (view more)