update

Earlier this month, Microsoft released a series of critical patches that affect the way that Internet Explorer handles web pages that use ActiveX controls. Microsoft's $521 Million Dollar Patch To recap: In 2004 Microsoft lost a patent lawsuit on a ... method for embedding and invoking interactive applications in web browsers (such as applets and plug-ins). The patent affects the way Internet Explorer manipulates interactive content, including: Flash or QuickTime movies, Adobe acrobat reader, Apple QuickTime player, Macromedia flash player, Microsoft Windows media player, Real Networks real ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Suzanne 'arial0197' writes: " Dear Dennis, I thoroughly enjoy your newsletters! Every day I find myself at your website browsing through the older issues to learn something new. I don't have a dilemma for you today, but would be ... very grateful to hear your opinion on what you think is the best web browser. In the last few months, I started using Mozilla Firefox. I absolutely love the 'tabbed browsing' feature that enables me to open up and flip to another web site without having umpteen different browser Windows opened up in my tray bar. Prior to Firefox, I used ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Suzie B. writes: " Dear Dennis, I've been keeping up with the buzz in your newsletter about Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). Although I haven't downloaded your SP2 Fail-Safe Install Guide , I would like to make a comment on my ... nightmare-ish experience with Service Pack 2. When I heard about the extensive features and benefits of Service Pack 2, I thought it sounded great -- and so decided to install it onto my machine. And that's when my nightmare began. The first time I tried to install Service Pack 2, it took a few hours to complete the install. When it was all said ... (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)

Infopackets Reader Reza M. asks, " Can you tell me, how I can update my computer's main board BIOS? " My Response: Flashing a BIOS simply means to update the BIOS. A BIOS is a computer chip which contains simple instructions required for operation ... particular to a device. Since not all main boards are the same, the steps taken for flashing a motherboard BIOS can only be generalized. I will attempt to explain the procedure, but must first advise: do not flash your BIOS unless you absolutely need to (IE: an update is required to have the device function properly). The reasoning for ... (view more)

Have you ever flashed your BIOS? The BIOS is a chip built onto a circuit board that contains a set of instructions. The instructions are responsible for controlling the device and how it interacts with other peripherals. For example: a main board ... (motherboard) contains a BIOS (CMOS) which stores information about your computer, such as the size of your hard drive, COM ports, buffers, and the like. Flashing a BIOS simply means to update the code of the BIOS instruction. This is done with two separate pieces of software: the BIOS flashing program, and the BIOS update itself. The BIOS flashing ... (view more)

Many CD recorders (burners) come prepackaged with CD recording software: Nero Burning ROM and Adaptec (Roxio) Easy CD Creator are two of the most popular titles. At first, learning how to use CD burning software can be difficult and cumbersome, ... especially if you've never burned a CD before. Most of us are able to cope with how to operate the new software after time goes on -- most notably after burning a few duds through trial and error. When it comes time to upgrade to a new CD burner, many users are disappointed when it is discovered that the new CD burner will not work with the old CD ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Robert W. write s: " Dear Dennis, I read your article in the Lockergnome newsletter about McAfee Virus Scan. I have had problems in the past with both McAfee and Norton virus programs and abandoned them a while back in favor of a ... better and FREE antivirus program. It is AVG AntiVirus and can be found at grisoft.com . I work as a computer technician and have heard of many complaints for both McAfee and Norton products not finding viruses even when you have the latest update. I have also seen this first hand in servicing computers with viruses on them. I highly recommend ... (view more)

Last week the last issue of the Infopackets Gazette was sent out. At the same time, a configuration change was made to the web server which hosts infopackets.com. What happened? It's a long story, but I'll try to reiterate in simple mumbo-jumbo ... without too much techy-talk. As you may already know, infopackets.com has experienced a major growth spurt in the last few months and has outgrown its current web server configuration. Therefore, it was decided that infopackets.com should be moved to a dedicated web server which offers unlimited bandwidth to fit the needs of its users. A purchase was ... (view more)