services

How to Fix: 'Your Power Plan Information isn't Available' Infopackets Reader Cindy G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running Windows 7 Pro and I'm trying to defrag my hard drive. I'm using Piriform Defraggler and it says that it will take over a day to ... complete. That's fine - however, every time I shut my monitor off and leave the computer to do its work, it keeps going to sleep. I have gone to the Power Options in the Windows Control Panel, but all I see is a message stating that 'Your power plan information isn't available'. I am completely perplexed by this as I have a Windows 7 laptop and my ... (view more)

How to Fix: Svchost.exe High CPU Usage Infopackets Reader Ben J. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just reinstalled Windows 7 on my machine, and from the get-go the machine is very slow to use. I ran Windows Task Manager to see what is going on, and the ... svchost.exe process is consuming 50% of my CPU. I have disabled the sleep mode on my computer and let svchost run for a few days, but nothing has come of it - it's still causing high CPU usage. I should also mention that I have not yet received any Windows Updates on my computer for the last week. What is causing the svchost process to run at high CPU ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jason B. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for all your excellent articles! Somehow my PC got infected with the Trojan: Trojan.Agent.Gen - it was detected by Malwarebytes Antimalware after I ran a scan. Malwarebytes said it needed to ... reboot to clean the infection; I did that, but after another scan, the Trojan is still on my system - I can't remove it! The filename and path of the Trojan is located at %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\windows.vbs. I have also tried removing Trojan.Agent.Gen using Microsoft Security Essentials and ADWCleaner, but neither program will remove it and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'David' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have Windows 10, and the updates keep failing. Also, when I try to update Creative Cloud (to upgrade my Adobe Photoshop), it gets to 54% complete and then I receive a message stating that 'Another ... installation is in progress' error. I also received a very strange error message when attempting to install Classic Shell: 'User System has previously initiated an install for product (Microsoft Office). That user will need to run that install again before they can use that product. You current install will now continue.' I click OK and it will ... (view more)

Some of the terms and conditions applying to Windows 10 users appear to give Microsoft permission to block software it suspects is illegal. However, it seems the clause may be a case of a careless cut-and-paste, rather than a firm policy. The text ... appears in the Microsoft Services Agreement. That's not strictly the terms and conditions of Windows 10 itself, but rather Microsoft's various online services. It's come to wider attention because so many of these services are used by apps built into Windows 10. Microsoft Can Block Games and Peripherals Among the agreement's clauses ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Alice K. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just installed Windows 10 on my PC, and I was disappointed that I now have to sign on with a Microsoft account email address. I would much rather not have to login to Windows 10 with a Microsoft ... account. Is there any way I can login to Windows 10 normally without an email address? " My response: Windows 10 and its services are largely based on the user having an Internet connection and a Microsoft account. For example, OneDrive, which allows users to store files seamlessly on the Internet, requires a Microsoft account in order to ... (view more)

Microsoft has signed up to an international standard for protecting customer privacy with online data. Among other measures, Microsoft promises to tell customers when the government demands access to their data. The company has followed ISO standard ... number 27018, which are guidelines set forth by the International Organization for Standardization. It's an attempt to set internationally recognized rules and regulations for the way "personally identifiable information" is handled in cloud services, and where data is stored or processed online rather than on the user's own computer ... (view more)

Should websites like Netflix pay extra fees to deliver their Internet-based services to the public? The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says no. Tom Wheeler says that broadband should be treated like a utility, such as phone ... services; in doing so, it will help to protect Internet freedoms. Critics, however, suggest that such a plan would be unworkable. Tom Wheeler's announcement has to do with the principle of net neutrality . That's the idea where Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should treat all Internet traffic (except for illegal content) equally. In other ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Nurse Lynda' writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks so much for fixing my computer [over the Internet] - it's amazing to see you work ... you sure know your stuff! ... [I have a question]: I have recommended your 'Remote Desktop Support' ... services to my friends on Facebook, but they don't understand how [you can fix my computer over the Internet]? Specifically, they are asking what is the meaning of 'Remote' Desktop Support? I've tried to explain, but they just don't understand it. Do you have a page explaining this? " My response: ... (view more)

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg says that a basic Internet service should be free of charge to everyone. He likened it to phone services where calling 911 (used for emergencies) carries no cost. Zuckerberg discussed the topic in a Wall Street Journal ... article in which he promoted Internet.org, a project trying to expand Internet access around the world . The group is made up of Facebook, browser maker Opera, and several leading tech hardware and communication firms. (Source: internet.org ) The group's aim is for everyone in the world to have Internet access, something that only one-third of ... (view more)