Dennis Faas

Over the weekend, my mother asked me the following question: " My church offers previously-recorded sermons in the .RM format, and I use Real One Player to play these files. Regrettably, the free version of Real One Player comes bundled with adware, ... and now my computer has advertisements and 'suggestions' popping up on my desktop! I would like to know if there is a freeware alternative to Real One Player, which can handle the .RM and other Real Media formats. What can you suggest? " My Response: Unfortunately, I don't use Real Player and refuse to install it on my machine (for ... (view more)

Die-hard Infopackets Reader Brandon S. writes: " Dear Dennis, How can I enable or disable the Auto Complete feature in Microsoft Outlook? It worked previously in Outlook Express but doesn't seem activated in MS Outlook. Thanks for everything, and ... take care! " My response: I personally don't use Microsoft Outlook, so I decided to use Google to try and find the answer to Brandon's question. The suggestions below are based on some of Google's top picks. To Recap: When enabled, the Auto Complete feature suggests frequently used email addresses when data is entered in the To:, Bcc: or Cc ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Frank C. asks: " I have recently upgraded to [a full install of MS Office] and [subsequently] also installed Microsoft Outlook. I have always used Outlook Express for receiving and sending emails, but now Outlook is receiving some ... of my mails ... [while] at other times, the mail comes or goes through Outlook Express. [I would like to only use Outlook Express as my default email client]. What do I do?" My Response: I have also chosen to install the "full installation" of Microsoft Office and have also noticed what Frank is referring to. By default, a full ... (view more)

Carol G. from Arkansas writes: " Dear Dennis, Lately I've had instant Messenger popups [*not* MSN Messenger], mostly to advertise a site called ByeByeAds.com, telling me that: 'if they can breach my pc's security, anyone can'. I've searched, and ... don't have instant messenger ON my pc, or messenger, and am wondering just how these things are getting through? Yesterday a porn site advertisement came through the same way. Is the ByeByeAds.com 'service' valid? Do I need it? They are annoying grey popups in the middle of my screen, which come through when I'm working on line. Hope you can help ... (view more)

Yesterday's Visitor Feedback question was sent in from Arlene M. In a nutshell, she asked if it was possible to make a window *always* stay on top of other windows, even after clicking or moving other windows. My response stated that, "If a window ... is active (IE: in use), it will remain on top of all other windows. Once another window is clicked or moved, it becomes the active window [and all other windows fall behind]." I also provided Arlene with some great keyboard shortcuts to make flipping through windows a real snap: A quick way to cycle through active Windows? Today, I ... (view more)

You've probably seen me mention PopUp Stopper Pro in the Gazette Newsletter before, but I have never done in an depth review on its features -- especially the Privacy Control that is offered. So, here goes! What is Panicware PopUp Stopper ... Professional? PopUp Stopper Pro is a program which eliminates unwanted web browser PopUp advertisements. PopUp Stopper Pro can also remove both Windows and Personal History Items, thereby providing the user with greater privacy control. Panicware PopUp Stopper: PopUp Blocking features Supports all major web browsers: AOL, MSN, Internet Explorer, Netscape, ... (view more)

Arlene M. asks: " Dear Dennis, I have Windows XP Pro. Sometimes, [the window I'm working with stays on top of the desktop], and sometimes [it disappears below other windows]. Do you know how I can have my active window show up on top so I don't have ... to [constantly click through other windows to get to it]? " My Response: If a window is active (IE: in use), it will remain on top of all other windows. Once another window is clicked or moved, it becomes the active window. Some programs -- such as WinAMP (used to play .MP3 files) -- have a feature which can make its program window ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Reverend Matthew Swisher emailed me over the weekend and asked a question about the Windows Clipboard: " Hi, Dennis! I enjoy getting your news letters very much. They have added so much to my computer knowledge. There is always ... something in everyone of them that I find useful, and because this is so, I have sent the subscription URL to everyone in my address book ... [And now, for my question] ... I suppose this may sound silly to you, but I do not know how to access the 'clipboard' [from within Windows]? I can't find information about it anywhere in the computer books ... (view more)

Jordan H. writes: " I would be ever so grateful to know the secret to removing those annoying arrows on shortcuts which are sent to the Desktop ... is there a simple way to undo the arrows? I would be very interested to know how. " My response: ... Microsoft's TweakUI can remove the shortcut arrows. Once you have downloaded and installed it on your machine, launch TweakUI (details below) and click on the Explorer tab. Uncheck the box next to "Prefix 'Shortcut to' on new shortcuts" and click OK. Microsoft's TweakUI (which is also bundled with PowerToys), may be downloaded from ... (view more)

Sick and tired of junk email and viruses? I sure am! Not too long ago, I received the following email from Infopackets Reader Hugh G., who introduced me to a program called MailWasher: " I just wanted to let you know that I'm using MailWasher, a ... program designed to keep out unsolicited commercial email (IE: Spam) and email viruses away from your computer. MailWasher connects to your Mail Server and allows you to preview and delete emails before they are downloaded to your Inbox! MailWasher also has a really handy feature which allows you to bounce emails back to people so it looks like ... (view more)