Software

Infopackets Reader Carol D. writes: " Dear Dennis, Can you recommend a good wireless keyboard for my Dell Demension 8200? I've asked Dell what they suggest and (no surprise) they recommend that I use their brand of wireless keyboard. I was just ... curious as to what you might suggest before I take the 'wireless plunge'. " My response: I suggest you start your quest by researching "wireless keyboard" through google. This should at least let you see a wide variety of wireless keyboards that are available. But before you're off on the hunt, keep in mind a few things: 1. Some wireless keyboards will ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Pat J. writes: " Dear Dennis, Could you please tell me the difference between an application and a software program? Or are software programs also applications? If so, what do non-software program applications do, and where are ... they located? " My response: Interesting question. There isn't much difference between the definition of "software" versus "application", as the two terms are often used interchangeably in the world of computing. Depending on the wording, however, application can infer how something is used. Let me see if I can explain the ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Robin' writes: " Dear Dennis, Regarding yesterday's Shell Extension City pick labeled ' SystemRescueCd ': According to the write-up, I understand that this particular rescue disc is (and I quote) 'a Linux system.' Question: does ... this mean that this is a rescue system for Windows XP that operates under Linux or is it a rescue system for people running Linux on their PC? I hope you understand what I mean. I'm confused! " My response: I was also very interested in this Shell Extension City pick, so I downloaded it and burned it onto a rewriteable disc. The answer to your ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jimmy B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm running windows XP and use Webroot Spy Sweeper and Norton Anti Virus. Sometimes I'll be using my computer when -- all of the sudden -- I get this very strange error message that reads 'Windows ... Form Parking Window' error and it shuts my computer down. What is Windows Form Parking Window and how can I stop it from appearing? I've done a Spyware and AntiVirus scan of my computer and haven't come up with anything. Can you help? " My response: From what I read via Google, the "Windows Form Parking Window" or " ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Faskia' writes: " Dear Dennis, One of my PCs is now failing to connect to the Internet, and is showing a Security Warning screen on a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). The blue background reads, 'A fatal error in IE has occured at ... 0028.C0011E36 in VXD VMM(01)+00010E36. Error was caused by Trojan-Spy.HTML.Smitfraud.c.' Would you please give me some simple steps to remove Smitfraud from my PC? " My response: The problem is that your computer has been infected with Spyware. According to the F-Secure web site, Trojan-Spy.HTML.Smithfraud.c is a phishing scam where "a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ernest A. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am very far from computer support, and could really use your help! For the last two weeks, I have been fiddling with Windows Movie Maker in an attempt to create a brief over view of my two ... back-to-back tours of duty in Iraq. The sequence includes photographs (stills) and some short movie clips that I took with my digital camera and some voice-overs with background music. Today, I completed the project had Windows Movie Maker render a low-quality sample as a 'trial run'. That went without a hitch, so I decided to render a higher- ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader David J. writes: " Dear Dennis, I seem to have lost 'Rover The Dog' Search Companion (Start -> Search in Windows XP). Somehow, Rover got off his leash and has now been replaced with MSN Search. I would like very much to put ... Rover back onto the left side of my computer screen, as he has always been a faithful companion to me and my Dell computer that I bought back in 1998. The funny thing is: Rover is still on my 'Search for files and Folders' page, but not on some of my other pages. Can you help me in getting Rover to Stay? " My response: I've been asked this ( ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bernie B. 'kennel king' writes: " Dear Dennis, You last featured my program, FileMap by BB, in your newsletter of January 2004. FileMap by Bernie Madigan I just wanted to pass on a quick note to let you know that I've just ... released version 4.03 of FileMap. It now displays System Registry 'run keys' since Trojan programs need to be constantly running in order to achieve any rational objective. My purpose in the update was to allow users to monitor 'run keys' which are a dead give-away for any rogue programs [Spyware, Trojans, etc] downloaded from the Internet. Rather ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader John W. writes: " I have a Dell PC and it came with Jasc Paint Shop Pro [picture editor software] installed. After a few months of operation, a screen came up and told me that the trial period for Paint Shop Pro (PSP) had expired. ... I had never used it, so I uninstalled it as PSP cost over $100 to buy the program. After doing this I could no longer open attachments in my Outlook Express. I guess that part of Paint Shop Pro was used to view my email image attachments for Outlook Express. I went searching for a viewer to install and came across a page on the Internet that ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Fran K. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have used some of my DVD-R disks to copy some of my old family movies, a couple I messed up on and won't let me copy anything else to them. Is there any kind of program that will let you recover or ... reuse the DVDs? " My response: Good question. The simple answer is that it is not possible to reclaim space on DVD-R or DVD+R media. However, providing that the disc you made is multi-session (IE: you specified that you can write more than once to the disc the first time you wrote to it) *and* you have a considerable amount of space ... (view more)