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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 '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)

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)

Gina D. writes: " Dear Dennis, After reading the article on CTube!, I downloaded it and installed on my machine ... only to find that I also needed to install RealPlayer to make it work. I went to the Real.com web site to download the latest version ... of RealPlayer, but could only find the RealOne Player available for download. I remember reading somewhere that RealOne Player uses pop up advertisements and I certainly don't want that. What can I do? " My response: Recall: CTube! is an onscreen guide and interface for Internet TV. The application works with Windows Media Player and ... (view more)

I visit dozens of web sites daily, and many of them require a username and password. I once used RoboForm to manage my passwords and form field data. Recently, I discovered a program called AccountLogon which organizes my password information and ... protects my data with 448-bit ["blowfish"] encryption -- an encryption level higher than RoboForm Pro (3DES). Side note: A higher encryption level means greater security. In short, it would take a very skilled hacker to "crack" an encrypted 3DES file, and much (much!) longer to crack a 448-bit blowfish encrypted file. What is ... (view more)

Recall -- Last week, Chris L. asked if it was possible to print out the filenames of all his music files which were stored in a single folder on his computer. I suggested using a DOS command to do the trick, and also asked Infopackets Readers for an ... alternate freeware solution. Print Music Filenames? Many users recommended KarenWare's "Directory Printer". From the web site: " No more fumbling with My Computer or Windows Explorer, wishing you could print information about all your files. Karen's Directory Printer can print the name of every file on a drive, along with the file's ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Dorothy L. writes: " Hi Dennis, I am very interested in the PopUp Stopper Professional program, but would first like to ask you a question regarding some despicable emails I've recently been receiving. I am a senior citizen and a ... grandmother, and would like to eliminate male-oriented offers before I turn 81. Is this possible to do? I have been a long-time subscriber to Smart Computing and the earlier PC Novice... I wish I had known about you earlier! I just happened upon it. Terrific stuff!!" Dorothy emailed me again today: " In checking my e-mail this a.m., ... (view more)

Several "clean up" programs on the market today are designed to eliminate Spyware* and other tracking devices after a computer has already become infected. GhostSurf Pro, on the other hand, prevents Spyware from infecting a PC (before it can ever ... take place) and provides a wide array of security features which allows users to surf the world wide web with varying degrees of anonymity. Side Note: Spyware is software which records information about you or your computer usage (without your knowledge) and then relays this information to a third party -- quite often, for marketing ... (view more)

Recall -- Last week, Bryan M. submitted a spoof video file about Macintosh computers: " I came across a very humorous video file about the experiences of using a Macintosh computer. The video is a spoof on those Macintosh commercials which were ... aired on TV a little while back. A typical scenario features big corporate executives who are frustrated by using a Windows PC at their workplace. " Macintosh commercial spoof video file Since then, numerous Readers have asked where they could download video (using_a_mac.wmv) in a in a different file format so that their Mac friends could ... (view more)