windows

You may have recently heard about the Windows Metafile vulnerability. Steve Gibson at GRC.com has written the definitive tool to detect if your system is still at risk. He calls this vulnerability "Metafile Image Code Execution" or "MICE" and he ... calls his detection tool, "MouseTrap". Do you still have MICE? Most of you are already protected by a Windows Update. Even so, I recommend you download and run MouseTrap to be certain that your computer doesn't have MICE. If the MouseTrap shows you do have MICE, Steve's article on the WMF page contains tips on how to get rid of your little rodents. ... (view more)

"Extra, Extra, Read all about it!" The corner Newsy has long since gone, replaced by the Newsstand with its wide variety of publications and sensational headlines hoping to attract the attention of a passerby. Times have changed, and with them, so ... have ways of communicating. To keep up with the events and happenings in the world of today, we often visit our favorite 'newsstands' via the web. If we visit one or two news sites on a regular basis, it's not difficult to keep track of events. A capable browser and set of bookmarks take care of that problem; but when there are a dozen or ... (view more)

Working at a computer can be very distracting. I've read that most people only stay focused on a task for an average of six minutes while using a PC. Personally, I get distracted even more than that! And this is especially true whenever I'm cutting ... and pasting things from the web. Often times I copy a graphic into the clipboard, get distracted for awhile, and then overwrite the clipboard with something else. Fortunately, I've managed to find a solution to this dilemma. CLCL is a clipboard manager , or more aptly put: a clipboard extender. It keeps a history of the most recent items copied ... (view more)

Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit For Windows Xp Some nice tools: Windows Disk Protection - Protects the Windows partition (typically drive C) that contains the Windows operating system and other programs from being modified without administrator ... approval. Disk changes made are cleared with each restart unless the administrator chooses to save them. User Restrictions - Restricts user access to programs, settings, and Start menu items. The tool also allows you to lock shared local user profiles to prevent permanent changes. (This tool is specifically for use in workgroup environments that do ... (view more)

Synopsis: Create your very own AutoPlay CD in less than 10 simple steps! Power AutoPlay Menu Creator Professional is a powerful, easy to use tool for creating an interactive CD Menu whenever you insert a disc into a Windows PC. With Power AutoPlay ... Menu Creator, you can create menus, launch applications, open documents, play movies, open web site, send an email, run built-in slide shows, and much more! No programming experience is necessary because Power AutoPlay Menu Creator runs on 'drag and drop' technology! What is AutoPlay? From Windows 95 and later, Microsoft Windows offers a CD AutoPlay ... (view more)

Auto Patcher How often do you install Windows? Most people install their operating system regularly, whether they want to or not. After a while, you will get sick of going to Windows Update and continuously downloading patch after patch, update ... after update. Well, we have just the thing. AutoPatcher is a comprehensive collection of patches, addons and registry tweaks that give you peace of mind in the knowledge that your Windows system is up to date, even before you connect it to the Internet. It's designed to quickly patch a system with the most current updates and tweaks available, and ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader S. Frisch recently asked a question regarding rootkits: " I've been hearing a lot of talk these days about 'rootkits' and how they can infiltrate Windows (regardless of whether or not you have a Firewall installed). What is your ... opinion of rootkits? I've also heard that there are programs that can help to defeat rootkits (with frequent updates): Rootkit Revealer, Ghostbuster and Blacklight. Do you think any one is better than the other? Do you think installing these programs is necessary? And if so, are there any others that are better?" Before answering this question, let' ... (view more)

Die-hard Infopackets Reader Paul B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have been a faithful subscriber to your newsletter for a few years now. While I immensely enjoy reading your articles (especially the software reviews), I am constantly second-guessing ... myself as to which utilities *I* need to keep my system running smoothly. As a newbie, I would like to know how many of these 'fix all programs' are really necessary? For example, which utilities do I need for: speeding up, uninstalling, defragging, anti-Spyware, anti-spam, firewall, anti-virus, registry cleaning / fixing... etc. I mostly use my ... (view more)

99 Useful Run Commands Do you use the Run feature in Windows XP? For many users, this feature is rarely used. The reason being: nearly all of the Run Commands Correspond to a particular Control Panel Item or a Utility, Tool or Task that can be ... accessed through Windows. The main reason most people don't use the Run feature is because they don't know the Commands. So, to solve that problem, here are 99 Run Commands and what they correspond to. http://www.fixmyxp.com/content/view/20/42/ Windows Live Safety Center Windows Live Safety Center is a new, free Microsoft service designed to help ensure ... (view more)

The posting today is more of a 'grab bag' than anything else. Mainly because I have had many little things come across my desk that deserve to be passed on but not enough information to make up a full post. First off, Open Office. There is a new ... release of the Open Office office suite, Version 2, and it is a corker. If you want or need an office suite for Windows, Linux (any distribution), UNIX (almost any flavor), or the Mac, this is the one to download. There are many goodies in the package and it works like a dream! Database, word processing that also does web pages, spreadsheet, ... (view more)