Dennis Faas

Infopackets Reader Don R. writes: " Dear Dennis, Continuing on with your recent discussion on video transfer to computer (and to CD): I've heard that there are ways to set up my PC to record TV shows on an automated schedule (similar to " Tivo "). I ... have a newer system with Windows XP and two DVD burners. Is this difficult to do? " My response: No, it's not difficult to do; at the minimum requirement, you would need a video capture card (or a video card with an input port), software to schedule when to record your shows, a sound card, and enough hard drive space to store ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just finished reading the latest issue of the Gazette, and have two questions to ask you concerning transferring video files to CD recordable. Similar to reader Samuel C., I own a video recorder ... and have transferred a number of VHS videos to the computer. The problem is, however, that a number of the files are too large to copy onto a single CD recordable disc. I read somewhere that I can compress my video files into another format, and therefore, make them fit onto a single CD. Can you explain how this works? And secondly, I have ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Samuel C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have many VHS tapes created from the use of my old JVC personal camcorder (analog). I would like to transfer the VHS video onto my computer and then to CD. I've tried researching this issue on ... the web, but am so confused because the lingo is too technical for me to understand. I have a 2 year old computer (Dell) with all the bells and whistles, currently running windows XP Home Edition. Can you help? " My response: In terms of hardware and software requirements, you will need: a camcorder or VCR to play the VHS video a video card ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ronald H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently had a stroke which has left me paralyzed on the right side of my body. As a result, I am now unable to use the computer mouse with any degree of accuracy. I was wondering if you or any ... of your Readers could recommend a product that I can use to help me navigate my computer in place of the mouse. I am currently typing this email to you with the aid of Dragon NaturallySpeaking , which inputs words on the screen using my voice. Any assistance you or your Readers can provide would be greatly appreciated. " My response: I am ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Doug L. wrote in with another question: " Many thanks for your quick response to my concern about GuruNet. I checked out your suggestions and appreciate your advice. I'm straight now and I will again download GuruNet for my 3 ... school-age sons. I have another question, if you don't mind. My oldest son (even though I told him not to) installed Kazaa on our family computer and downloaded some music. The problem now is that ALTNET [a third-party advertising program] has been installed on my machine along with Kazaa. It seems to be controlling my system by automatically ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Doug L. writes: " Dear Dennis, After reading your wonderful acticle on GuruNet , I downloaded and installed it on my machine. To my surprise, my Spyware detection utility (SpyDoctor) reported GuruNet as a malware BHO (Browser ... Helper Object). Can you comment on this? " Side note: a Browser Helper Object is a 'plug-in' for Internet Explorer which allows software developers to customize and control browsing sessions. BHO's are typically instantiated [initialized] by .DLL files which are located in the Windows System / System32 folder. My response: Unfortunately, your ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Michael' writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running Windows XP professional on my system. I'd like to reinstall Windows on my PC, but cannot locate my CD case which has the Windows XP Product Key required to install Windows back onto my ... machine. Is there a way to extract the Product Key from within my computer? " My response: Yes. All CD Keys are stored in your System Registry, and there are a number of methods (and 3rd-party applications) that can extract this information for you. Magic Jelly Bean finder (the first link listed below) will extract Windows XP and Office ... (view more)

Yesterday, I came across a very interesting article posted by p2pnet.net which details a recent exploit in MS Windows, called "jpeg of death.c v.05". In summary: on September 17th, 2004, a proof-of-concept exploit was discovered that could ... potentially execute malicious code on the victim's computer when viewing a JPG file image file using Internet Explorer; at the time, however, the exploit only crashed Internet Explorer. On September 24th, a new variant of the exploit appeared, responsible for running potentially malicious code if an infected .jpeg file was downloaded from the ... (view more)

Recall -- Last week , Infopackets Reader Cara J. asked if it was possible to copy folders from one disk to another, without copying the contents of each folder: " Dear Dennis, I enjoy your newsletter greatly. I've been saving documentation on a 100 ... megabyte ZIP disk, which there are multiple folders I've created. I'm running out of space on this particular ZIP disk and will have to start using a new one soon. Question: is there a way to copy just the folders (and not the contents) from the first disk to a new one? I'm particular about the way I file my information and would like to use ... (view more)

Die-hard Infopackets Reader Dri-Anna D. writes: " Dear Dennis, Being that I consider you a trusted source (along with Fred Langa's LangaList), I am following your newsletter articles with great interest with respect to updating Windows XP to Service ... Pack 2. I have a question, however. I will be purchasing a new computer next month, and it will have a pre-installed copy of Windows XP Home Edition, complete with the install CD so I can install it again at a later date (if needed). I am very excited about using my new computer, yet, I am also dreading the job of transferring my gobs of ... (view more)