desktop

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)

Synopsis: What's the best way to teach someone how to use a computer? By *showing* them, of course! With My Screen Recorder, you can create stunning website and software demos by capturing the actions you make via the Windows desktop! The advanced ... screen capturing tool can capture anything you see on the computer screen, including: the entire desktop, windows, menus, cursors, and even video with sound! Next to physically being in the same room as the "student", there is nothing better than demonstrating your actions with My Screen Recorder! My Screen Recorder: Details You can use My Screen ... (view more)

Synopsis: Is your computer desktop covered with leaflets of paper reminders? Want to recover your previous desktop space and reclaim your sanity? Then why not try Cute Reminder?! With Cute Reminder, you can create simply-to-use (and non-annoying!) ... reminders to manage your desktop notes with just one or two mouse clicks! Cute Reminder's extremely easy to use interface provides comfort at your workplace whether you're in the office or at home. With the help of Cute Reminder software, you can easily create desktop sticky notes and make reminders for an appointment, birthday, phone call, bill ... (view more)

Synopsis: Do you have a bazillion Internet Favorites (bookmarks) stored in your web browser and aren't sure which ones work and which ones don't? Is your Start Menu ultra-cluttered with so many program links, that the list goes off the screen every ... time you click "Start"? If so, then you *need* Links Organizer! Links Organizer was developed to provide quick access to most kinds of links on your system -- from Start Menu and Desktop, to Internet Favorites and Bookmark links. Using Links Organizer, you can inspect, edit and exchange links between categories. It also includes a links ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill C. writes: " Dear Dennis, After reading your review, I downloaded and installed WinOptimizer Platinum Suite . So far, it freed up almost 1.5 gig of space on my system. I was impressed. I also happened to come across another ... program called PowerUp XP Platinum, and was wondering if you would consider writing a review? It looks equally as good. Thanks in advance! PS: I have been enjoying your newsletters for quite some time. They're always informative and to the point. Please keep up the good work! " My response: Thanks for the kind words. I did a bit of ... (view more)

Windows looks about the same every time I startup the computer. The icons on my desktop always look the same, and my Wallpaper only changes on occasion. Even the taskbar has a certain familiarity that's comforting, albeit terribly dull -- no matter ... which version of Windows I use. Recently, I discovered a desktop replacement program called 3DNA, and now using my Windows PC is like a new adventure after every click. What is 3DNA? 3DNA is a three-dimensional (3D) alternative to the traditional Windows desktop environment. The application provides a fully customizable workspace (referred to as a ... (view more)

Yesterday's feature article on Eazy Backup stirred up some emotions from a few Infopackets Readers. In fact, Tina P. from Franklin, Indiana told me about her recent horror story: " Dear Dennis, I am grinning now, although I wasn't on Monday! I just ... finished reading yesterday's feature article on Eazy Backup , and must admit: doing regular backups is very important. I don't know if it was a combination of the full moon last Friday and Monday's date being the 13th -- but it seems that all of my electronic equipment have formed a revolt. On Thursday, my desktop's motherboard finally gave ... (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)

If you share files online the Internet (trading MP3s, movies, software), you have undoubtedly already heard of Kazaa -- maybe even Kazaa Lite . In a nutshell Kazaa uses its own P2P (peer to peer) technology which allow users across the Internet to ... share files online. The last time I checked, there were about 2.2 million users online Kazaa, sharing some 5 million files. That's a lot of files. I'm not going to get into the complexities of how things work, because I've already discussed that in a previous issue of the Infopackets Gazette. Kazaa is free software which gets its funding from the ... (view more)