software

Over the weekend I received a handful of interesting comments from Readers concerning the ' controversy ' over Ashampoo and Magic Defrag . Infopackets Reader Thomas W. begins with some findings cited by a well known computer magazine in Germany: " ... Here's some interesting news regarding the Magic Defrag 'controversy': the German computer magazine C't -- well known for its objective side-by-side tests -- tested Diskeeper 9 and Norton's Speed Disk versus the Defrag built into Windows XP. The consensus of the article was that Diskeeper does not provide much of an advantage over Windows ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jeff S. writes: " Dear Dennis, This is not so much a question, but a comment. Several weeks ago I picked up a 120GB Maxtor Hard Drive at Best Buy. I decided to use this drive for backing up my digital pics, MP3's, downloads, etc. ... I also wanted to use the new drive to backup my operating system, but totally sure which one was right for me. I borrowed a copy of Norton Ghost from a friend, installed it on my system, but wasn't too impressed with the interface (I found it difficult to understand); I also thought the price was a little too high (at $69.99 retail). It was at ... (view more)

I've just received wind that Acronis has released Disk Director Suite version 10 -- the perfect companion to the extremely popular Acronis True Image (disk imaging backup software)! Who is Acronis, you ask? Acronis is a leading software company that ... specializes in storage management solutions for mission-critical situations. Acronis provides technically advanced (but simple to use) applications for: disaster recovery, backup and restoration, hard drive partitioning, boot management, data migration and other storage management products. Acronis' line of disk management software has won many ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Michel S. writes: " Dear Dennis, First, thank you for this very informative and welcoming website. My question today is in regard to a corrupt DVD disc. After having burned some of my favorite downloaded files to DVD disc (using ... the 'D-well' brand blank DVD), some files appear to be OK, but part of the DVD disc cannot be accessed at all. ;-( I am using an ASUS DVD writer and Nero 6.0 for my backup. So far, my computer friends haven't been able to help me with this issue. I'd certainly appreciate if you can help me to clarify this mystery. Thank you in advance! " ... (view more)

Sensive Guard Powerful network firewall and a real-time file-guard to protect your PC against viruses, spyware, Trojans, and hackers. It protects both inbound and outbound network, guards critical system and personal files. It intelligently detects ... malicious operations from user operations with inputs from local keyboard or mouse and take appropriate security actions. It can reliably block access to any files that occurs without your manual initiation locally. It is also very easy to use. No user configuration is required. The built-in policies allow most common accesses without bothering ... (view more)

A CD key, or product key is a specific software-based key for a certain computer program and is used to identify that the copy of the program is original. For official products the key might be used offline, at other times with software like ... Windows, it is registered online to prevent multiple people using the same key. The term CD key likely comes from the fact that the key is usually on the case or the CD. Computer games and Window Install discs come with CD keys to verify that the disc has been not been illegally copied. The key itself consist of a series of numbers and/or letters. This ... (view more)

Malware Malware , or "malicious software" is a generic term used to describe various types of malevolent programs. Below are some of the most common forms of malware. Virus Viruses have used many sorts of hosts. When computer viruses first ... originated, common targets were executable files that are part of application programs and the boot sectors of floppy disks. More recently, most viruses have embedded themselves in e-mail as Email attachments, depending on a curious user opening the viral attachment. In the case of executable files, the infection routine of the virus arranges that ... (view more)

Internet radio is a broadcasting service transmitted via the Internet. Not every internet "radio station" has a corresponding traditional radio station. Many internet radio stations are completely independent from traditional ("terrestrial") radio ... stations and broadcast only on the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as streaming. Because the radio signal is relayed over the Internet, it is possible to access the stations from anywhere in the world -- for example, to listen to an Australian radio station from Europe or America. This makes it a popular service for ... (view more)

Spyware is a broad category of malicious software intended to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the user's informed consent. While the term taken literally suggests software that surreptitiously monitors the user, ... it has come to refer more broadly to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party. Spyware differs from viruses and worms in that it does not usually self-replicate. Like many recent viruses, spyware is designed to exploit infected computers for commercial gain. Typical tactics furthering this goal include ... (view more)

Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks computers running Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software -- including Blaster, ... Sasser, and Mydoom -- and helps remove any infection found. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed. Microsoft releases an updated version of this tool on the second Tuesday of each month. You can run the tool from ... (view more)