Dennis Faas

Infopackets Reader Glenda 'LadyInRed' writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your response . Unfortunately I don't have Windows XP on my computer (I'm still using Windows 98). So, my question to you now is: other than security, what is better about ... Windows XP? And if I can't use Windows XP, would you recommend that I upgrade to Windows ME? " My response: I can't provide you with an exhaustive / comparative list of differences between Windows 98 and XP, but there are a number of obvious differences that I can highlight: With respect to Windows 98: an announcement was made in December 2003 ... (view more)

Roughly two weeks ago, I wrote an article that featured a nifty utility that Password Protects Files and Folders. The program is particularly useful if you share your computer with others and don't want them accessing sensitive data. Recall -- " ... ... People are going to be curious and want to look at your files, and there's not much you can do (as far as protection) with the current Windows security if you haven't logged out. Folder Password Expert does exactly what the title implies. It's as easy as choosing a folder to protect and creating a password! ... As opposed to other software, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Peter D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running Windows 2000 Professional on a machine that uses a Pentium 3 processor. After around 1 hour online, a RAM defrag utility I use reports that most of my RAM has been lost and I need to ... defrag. Can you tell me why I lose most of my RAM, and why it's necessary to defrag constantly? PS: your newsletter is great. " My response: RAM is just that -- Random Access Memory -- which means that it will get fragmented *very* quickly as computing information is randomly written, read, and deleted from memory. It is true: RAM gets ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Donna E. writes: " Dear Dennis, My subscription to Norton AntiVirus is about to expire and I am thinking about switching to a different software company for my virus protection. I have done some reading on the Internet, but I am ... still not sure of which products are the best. I have Windows XP Professional on my computer and use DSL for my Internet connection. PS: Thanks for all of your wonderful advice in the newsletter! " My response: I personally use Symantec Norton AntiVirus on my system, largely because Symantec has an excellent reputation for quickly ... (view more)

Now that my XP Service Pack 2 Fail-Safe Installation Guide has been completed, I've started working on a few new projects in addition to revamping the layout of our web site (an enormous endeavor that began approximately 5 months ago). One of the ... new projects I started last week is an affiliate-tracking system that allows Infopackets Readers to resell our supplemental eBook and video tutorial guides. For example: if you refer someone to our web site and they buy a supplemental tutorial (such as the Service Pack 2 Fail-safe Guide), you can generate 30% on each sale. At the introductory price ... (view more)

I have finally finished my latest eBook, entitled, "Windows XP Service Pack 2 Install Guide: A fail-safe guide for new and intermediate computer users." Reminder: What is Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)? Service Pack 2 is Microsoft's latest -- major ... -- update to Windows XP. It's not just a collection of security patches; it is also a significant upgrade to the operating system itself and contains elements which cannot be obtained as separate downloads via the Windows Update web site. The Buzz surrounding the Release of XP Service Pack 2: Do or Don't? Service Pack 2 (SP2) began ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Katia E. writes: " Hi Dennis! I need your help in solving a little dilemma. I created a simple Excel spreadsheet to calculate the employee work hours from a time card. The problem is that I just cannot find a formula that will add ... the total hours worked everyday, in order to get a total of hours worked for the week. For example, the time card contains the following information: SAT --, SUN --, MON 8:31am, TUE 8:33am, WED 8:43am, THU 8:12am, FRI 9:00am. Any help you can give me to leave this frustration behind is greatly appreciated! " My response: This is actually ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Elizabeth K. asks: " I want to read my Yahoo email using Outlook Express. Can you please tell me how to do this? " My response: Outlook Express only supports POP3 and IMAP mail server protocols. In not-so-techy-terms, a protocol ... is simply a method of communication between computers (such as your computer and the yahoo mail server). The web version of Yahoo email doesn't use POP3 email protocol because it operates over the browser. If you want to use POP3, you can: Sign up for a free service offered by Yahoo which allows you to use POP3 protocol with any email ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Dak59' asks, " I've read quite a few different things about Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), but some of the comments I read are varying. Is it safe to install? Would you advise to download SP2, or not? " My response: I would ... recommend installing SP2, as it offers many new security features that are not otherwise available as a "patch" or "hot fix" using the Windows Update web site. I am not alone in this opinion, as they are countless reputable web sites that are promoting the usefulness of SP2 (including: updateXP.com , winSuperSite.com , ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bruce J. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am writing to you about a rather strange problem that appears in my System Configuration Utility. When I click on the Startup tab, there is a column area labeled 'SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ ... CurrentVersion \ Run'. There is nothing listed in this column and I'm really not sure what this is, or if it's a virus of some sort. I was hoping that maybe you could help me identify this? Thanks for your time and consideration on this issue. " My response: You didn't mention what program you're using to edit your Startup preferences, ... (view more)