Dennis Faas

Infopackets Reader Fran X. writes: " There are a lot of $NtUninstall folders in my Windows directory. What purpose do they serve and can I delete them from my hard drive? " My response: I looked on my own hard drive for these directories, but didn't ... see any. Curious as to what would cause this to happen, I decided to search Google.com for "$ntuninstall in windows folder". After a few listings, I found a newsletter article from Lockergnome.com which held the answer to Fran's dilemma. From the Lockergnome web site: " Question: In the Windows folder, there are many ... (view more)

On October 2nd, 2003, I asked Infopackets Readers for some Freeware Picture viewers: Missing Picture Viewer for Windows 98? I am happy to say that I received many responses. In fact, a great deal of readers highly recommended a program called ... IrfanView. From the web site: " IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative freeware (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP. It is ... simple [enough] for beginners, and [yet] powerful [enough] for professionals ... Some IrfanView features: Many supported file formats, Multi language support, Thumbnail/ ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'BluzzOne' writes: " How do you remove Kazza? It seems impossible to uninstall. I have ad-aware 6 which removed the Spyware associated with Kazaa, and it no longer runs. I think Kazaa needs the adware in order to function. " My ... response: You are correct: Kazaa will not run without the Spyware (adware) attached, which is why so many users prefer to use Kazaa Lite -- it doesn't come bundled with parasite code. The Add / Remove Programs in Control Panel should remove Kazaa from your computer, although I'm not sure what happens to the uninstall program if you use a ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Vicky F. writes: " Hello, and good day to you! I just want to know how can I connect to the Internet using a laptop with a built-in modem? Do I still need an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or can I just hook up my laptop to the ... cable outlet? I am a newbie on this stuff, and I will really appreciate it if you could give me some insight. " My response: The built-in modem you are referring to is for dial-up (I.E.: phone line) Internet access, which is very slow compared to a cable modem or DSL connection. Should you decide to use dial-up Internet, all that is ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Pac' writes: " Dear Dennis, For some unknown reason, my Search function has stopped working with Windows XP (Home Edition) ... I read your recent article, 'Windows Search options are Blank?': Windows Search Options are Blank, ... Part 2 But, my circumstances are different. If I put the name of whatever I am searching for, hit search, the hourglass icon appears and then the Windows Search appears to do nothing. When I hit CTRL + ALT + DEL, the search program starts working. This one has me stumped! I would love to have the search program working normally. Any assistance is ... (view more)

Side note: I was late getting back from a Holiday this past Tuesday (Canadian Thanksgiving) and was unable to send out Tuesday's edition of the Gazette on time. Without further adieu, please enjoy this "late" edition! Infopackets Reader Ali V. ... writes: " Good morning! Firstly I'd like to I've found your newsletter very helpful in the past and have downloaded thins that have been suggested, so thank you. I wonder if you could help me with a problem I am having. I use Windows 98, BT Open World (my Internet Service Provider), and I am having a real problem opening attachments in ... (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)

This feature article is just a quick note to let you know that Microsoft has released 4 critical updates and 1 "important" update on October 15, 2003. Each critical exploit can allow a hacker to execute arbitrary code and gain access to your PC. ... Affected machines are those which are running Windows ME, NT, 2000, XP and 2003 Server (source: MS Bulletins MS03-041~44: October 15, 2003). Yikes! If you haven't already downloaded the patches via Windows Automatic Update or the Windows Update Web site, you can visit the Microsoft web site to learn more. http://www.microsoft.com/security/ ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader L. Sullivan writes: " Dear Dennis, I've been having lots of problems with constant error messages lately. After reading your article on '.DLL Hell', I downloaded Registry Mechanic as it sounded like the perfect solution. Well, it ... seems [that Registry Mechanic has] stopped the .DLL error messages, but I still keep getting Internet Explorer error messages that cause it to close down suddenly. Can you help, please?? I am a newbie, so please keep it simple, if you can. Thanks, and PS: I love your site!! " My Response: Recall -- From a previous Infopackets Gazette, we ... (view more)

2018/01/13 Update: If you'd like to learn about the most secure options then check out this guide on secure browsers by BestVPN.com. Die Hard Infopackets Reader Ted B. writes: " I have Internet Explorer (IE) 6.0 with Service Pack 1 installed. My ... Internet Service Provider (ISP) is Juno, and it comes with a web browser (version 5.0, build 33). I recently downloaded Netscape version 7.0. Yesterday I received word (via LockerGnome's newsletter) that I needed to go to the Microsoft Windows Update web site to download a fix for a recently discovered security vulnerability in Internet Explorer ... (view more)