windows

A new report suggests Santa might be more kind to Mac than Windows users this holiday season. The reason is simple: During the past year, they were considerably more generous about making donations to charity. Donation management company Qgiv ... recently examined the giving patterns of approximately 165,000 people, analyzing a total of 320,000 donations made by these people between November 2011 and November 2012. Mac Users Were 25% More Generous The results: The average Mac user gave non-profit charities $182, while the average Windows user donated only $137. If these statistics are to be ... (view more)

Windows XP End Of Support Countdown Gadget 1.0 Time is running out on Microsoft's decade-old operating system, Windows XP. This handy little gadget will display a clock that counts down to the final moment when Microsoft support for Windows XP ... finally expires in the year 2014. http://www.microsoft.com CurrPorts 2.05 CurrPorts is a software utility designed to help you keep tabs on your Windows computer's open TCP/IP and UDP ports. This program will also allow you to close unwanted connections and kill those processes responsible for opening unwanted ports. Information related to your ports' ... (view more)

Owners of devices running Windows 8 will be disappointed to learn that Google will not be investing any more resources into building apps for that operating system or for Windows Phone 8 -- at least not for the time being. In a recent interview with ... the British technology-based publication V3, Google Apps product management director Clay Bavor made it clear his company has no plans to build any more apps for Windows. Bavor says Google is "very careful about what (they) invest and will continue to go where the users are." According to Bavor, Google's users "are not on Windows Phone or Windows ... (view more)

We recently received this question from a regular Infopackets reader: "Hi there, Thanks for all the great information you've been supplying me. Now I have a question: I'm a Windows 8 user who has never really appreciated the log-in prompt. Is there ... a way to disable it on my computer? Thanks! John C." My answer: Yes, John, there is. Windows 8 users who don't like the log-in screen can bypass this part of the normal process when starting up their PCs. Ending Log-In Prompts in a Few Easy Steps To get rid of the usual Windows 8 log-in, first boot up your computer and enter your log-in ... (view more)

This great question recently made its way to us from a frequent Infopackets reader: "Hi guys, I just purchased a Windows 8 PC. For the most part I'm enjoying the new OS. However, I noticed that Safe Mode is no longer available. I think this is an ... important feature and can't figure out why it would have been removed. Is there a way to bring it back? Thanks! Richard F." Our response: Yes, Richard, it is an important feature. There are many situations in which it's helpful to boot your computer into Safe Mode. So it's good to know you can do this in Windows 8. Actually, there are two ... (view more)

Leading security firm Sophos has revealed that Google's Android operating system (OS) -- and not Microsoft's Windows -- is now the favorite operating system for hackers to target. Sophos revealed that finding in its newly released 2013 Security ... Threat Report. The firm says that during a three-month time frame, one in every ten Android-based devices was the target of some kind of malware attack. By comparison, only six per cent of Windows devices were targeted by hackers and other purveyors of malware. (Source: forbes.com ) This is the first time since the 1990s that Windows has not been the ... (view more)

Let's get this out of the way: Microsoft's decision to drastically change the Windows interface for Windows 8 remains highly controversial. But there are benefits for users who make the switch to the new operating system (OS). Number one on that ... list: the all-new security features that Windows 8 offers. For one, Windows 8 includes Windows Defender (otherwise know as Security Essentials). This free antivirus and antimalware security program takes over and protects a user's computer automatically, and remains in operation until some other antivirus program is installed. While recent tests have ... (view more)

We have received several technical inquiries much like this one from a long-time Infopackets subscriber: "Dear Infopackets: I have converted to Windows 8 and am getting along OK. But I'm worried about losing my data if this new operating system ... should contain a bad bug that hasn't yet been discovered. I knew what to do for data recovery in Windows 7, now I'm lost. You offered me lots of good information in the past, so I'm hoping now you can tell me how to do data recovery in Windows 8. Thanks, Charlene F." My Response: Few people have reported major problems with Windows 8 so far ( ... (view more)

Universal Media Server 2.1.2 Universal Media Server is a free software tool for Windows capable of streaming and transcoding most types of media file formats. In most cases, no configuration is required from the user. This program is written in Java ... and works with all major operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. http://www.universalmediaserver.com Windows Media Player Plus! 2.5 Windows Media Player Plus! is a completely free plug-in utility for the standard Microsoft Windows Media Player platform. Once installed, it adds convenient user interface and playback options and ... (view more)

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free antivirus software tool, which makes it a tempting download for many Internet users. However, a new report suggests it will protect computers only from two in every three or so worm, virus, or Trojan horse ... threats. An independent computer security lab based in Germany recently carried out tests of Security Essentials' effectiveness in detecting and removing security threats affecting Microsoft's popular Windows 7 operating system (OS). The lab is affiliated with AV-Test, an independent security institute that performs tests of security products every ... (view more)