You’ve got questions and we’ve got answers. Today we highlight how to save your computer if it’s so overrun by viruses and malware you can’t work from within Windows, install iTunes without all the bloat, and tame a hyper-sensitive trackpad.
Once a week we dip into our mailbag and help readers solve their problems, sharing the useful solutions with you I the process. Read on to see our fixes for this week’s reader dilemmas.
Clean an Infected PC with a Bootable Rescue CD
Dear Cowbells,
I’ve got a fever and, alas, the cure wasn’t more cowbell. My computer is infected with “System Tool 2011” malware and I’m in a bind. I can’t reboot into Safe Mode with Networking and I can’t (because of a previous incident that damaged it) use my system restore! My entire system is being held hostage at this point. What can I do?
Sincerely,
Cowbells Can’t Fix Everything
A fever that can’t be cured by more cowbell is serious business and requires serious tools. You’re going to need access to a clean PC to create a boot CD. We’re going to outright circumvent the malware by loading an entire operating system—however lightweight—into your computer’s memory. With it we can work on the infected disk from a safe distance and without the hassle of the malware having any control over the system. We have two guides you’ll want to check out. Start with our guide to making a bootable BitDefender rescue CD. If for some reason that fails you, check out this guide on creating a Kaspersky rescue CD. Good luck!
Installing iTunes Without The Bloat
Dear Cupertino,
After years of being an Apple-free household this Christmas the long arm of Apple’s consumer electronics division will finally snag us. I bought my wife an iPad and I just found out my brother is getting me one of the new iPods. This means I’ll be installing iTunes; I know there are alternative managers out there but for the sake of having something my wife can use without any hassle, I’ll be sticking with iTunes. Is there anyway to install it without all the crap? I want as little iTunes as possible while still making simple tasks like syncing music and creating playlists easy.
Sincerely,
Cupertino Got Their Claws in Me
You’re in luck. After the advent of iTunes 10—the most bloated release of iTunes yet—we put together a guide to installing just the components you need. Check out our guide here and see how you can skip annoying bloat like the nearly useless iTunesHelper.exe. Should you find you need any of the tools in the future, you can always install them. While you’re checking stuff out you might want to take a peek at our massive list of iPad tips and tricks to get yourself familiar with what the iPad can do (and how you can fix some minor annoyances).
Lock Down Your Touchpad While Typing
Dear Jittery Trackpad,
We recently got new laptops at work and the new ones have a totally smooth touchpad that is flush with the wrist rest. I find myself bumping it all the time and the stupid cursor jumps all over, often deleting parts of the email I was writing and doing another annoying things in the process. It’s driving me crazy! I need the trackpad (I don’t want to lug around a travel mouse with me everywhere) so disabling it completely is out of the question. What can I do?
Sincerely,
Jittery Trackpad
We feel your pain, it seems like every year trackpads get more sensitive and ever easier to bump with your hands as you type. You’ve got a couple options for resolving your problem. You could use an application to disable the trackpad while you’re typing or you could decrease the sensitivity of the trackpad until it is low enough to not register small bumps while typing. Check out our guide here to see available software solutions and how to adjust the sensitivity. Also, you may want to check the documentation that came with your laptop. Many newer laptops have a little button near the hinge that, either through software on the laptop or through a hardware switch, allows you to turn off the trackpad temporarily.
