software

Infopackets Reader Betsy S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am such a beginner on the computer, but enjoy reading your newsletters (even though some topics are way over my head)! I'm writing you today because I am concerned about some of the freeware ... programs that are mentioned -- not only in your newsletter -- but on other web sites, as well. I just read your article on " How to Visually trace down a Hacker ", and I was very interested in downloading VisualZone and trying it out on my machine. My question is: Don't hackers often use 'free' software to get into your computer? How can ... (view more)

Since writing this newsletter, I have received a number of questions with respect to burning CD recordable discs. One question came from Infopackets Reader Bob T., who recently asked how it was possible to transport movie files from his computer ... onto his DVD player. Bob writes: " Dennis, I have a number of .MPEG movie files that I've downloaded through Kazaa. Friends tell me it is possible to play these files using my DVD player, but I need special CD burning software to do it. Is this true? If so, what program do you recommend? " And Infopackets Reader Sheila S. asked how to ... (view more)

Recall -- A few weeks back, Infopackets Reader Brad B. asked if it was possible to transfer his digital camera photo software from his work computer to his home PC: " Dear Dennis, Many years ago, I bought a digital camera that came with the software ... program called 'Camedia'. Unfortunately my computer crashed last year and (worse yet) I can't find the CD to reinstall it on my PC! Before I lost the disc, I managed to install Camedia on the computer at work, and thankfully, it's still working fine. I have tried copying the Camedia files from the work computer to my home computer, but it won ... (view more)

Quite a few users contacted me over the weekend after reading last Saturday's article regarding 321 Studios and DVD X Copy. I have decided to follow up this discussion with some Q & A. Side note: To recap -- on February 20th, "a federal court ... ruled that 321 Studios must stop making software that allows users to copy DVDs ... [The] St. Louis-based [company] said it would appeal the ruling ... which has barred 321 from selling its DVD copying software [by February 27th, 2004]. " (Source: Reuters.com ). Infopackets Reader Rafael C. asks: " Regarding your February 21st news ... (view more)

Are DVD backups illega l? On February 20th, "a federal court has ruled that 321 Studios must stop making software that allows users to copy DVDs ... [The] St. Louis-based [company] said it would appeal the ruling by Judge Susan Illston of U.S. ... District Court in San Francisco ... [The court] has barred 321 from selling its DVD copying software within one week [ending February 27th, 2004]. " (Source: Reuters.com ). Despite the ruling, "321 stands firm ... to fight the Hollywood Studios in their effort to take away our customers' digital rights,' said Robert Moore, Founder and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Lisa C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have upgraded my Windows ME to XP and I can not longer use my Adaptec Easy CD Creator ... How can I get this program to work on this Windows edition? " My response: The short answer is that ... Microsoft did not include something called an ASPI layer for Windows 2000 and XP, which is a required sub-program for many CD burning applications, such as Easy CD Creator. The solution is to download and install an ASPI layer so that your CD drive is recognized and usable under Easy CD Creator. Luckily, I managed to find a program called ... (view more)

Is your computer safe from the dangers of file-sharing? I know mine isn't. Just this past Monday, I received a message stating that the file I received (through Kazaa) was infected with malicious code that could harm my computer. I was lucky that my ... anti-virus program caught the malevolent program from infecting my machine, otherwise I would have launched the file completely blind that my actions may have corrupted my entire hard drive. Indeed, a scary thought. At this point, I paused for a moment and thought to myself, "Could there be other nasty software lurking on my computer that may ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Louise S. writes: " I recently bought a DVD disc through eBay from a gentleman in Britain. When I tried to play it on the DVD player attached to my TV, a screen popped up saying I was in the wrong region. I then tried it in the ... CD-DVD player (Samsung) in my computer and it said the same thing. My computer, however, did allow me to change over to region 2, which is Europe, but will only allow me to switch back and forth between Regions 1 and 2 a total of 4 times, and then it becomes permanent. I don't want that to happen as only the one DVD is a region 2. Is there ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Dorothy L. writes: " Hi Dennis, I am very interested in the PopUp Stopper Professional program, but would first like to ask you a question regarding some despicable emails I've recently been receiving. I am a senior citizen and a ... grandmother, and would like to eliminate male-oriented offers before I turn 81. Is this possible to do? I have been a long-time subscriber to Smart Computing and the earlier PC Novice... I wish I had known about you earlier! I just happened upon it. Terrific stuff!!" Dorothy emailed me again today: " In checking my e-mail this a.m., ... (view more)

Yesterday's feature article was about file recovery after a hard drive crash. File recovery after hard drive crash? In a nutshell, I outlined some steps one might take in order to recover files from a corrupt hard drive. I also asked Infopackets ... Readers if they knew of any good freeware or commercial file recovery software which could undelete / recover lost data. Here are some of the responses I received: Haukur B. and Pippe both recommended a program called "PC Inspector File Recovery". From the web site: " PC Inspector File Recovery is a data recovery program with support ... (view more)