Windows, worms and viruses on readers' minds

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 16, 2003 by James Derk Scripps Howard News Service

Good morning, America, how are you? Tons of your mail await. I shall do my best.

Question: I have Windows 95 (yes, it's old, but it works for me) and would like to know how to delete items from the "Favorites" list.

Answer: Depending on the version of Internet Explorer you are using, you can either right-click on the Favorite that is no longer a favorite and select DELETE, or select Organize Favorites and do it from there.

Question: We want to get a computer for our son; we are considering a used one. He does like to play games and use the Internet. With the info I have received, it seems that we could use his and our computer on a cable modem, for the price of one. I have two questions: new vs. used? And what size computer would you recommend?

Answer: Yes, if you buy a router you can use the cable modem connection for more than one PC. As for new vs. used PCs, that is very hard to determine.

Today's new PCs are so cheap that often you can obtain a new one (with warranty) for the same price many people are asking in the classifieds. These days I would seek a Pentium III level processor as a minimum and work up from there. If he is a gamer, he'll want a good video card and lots of RAM. In your shoes, I would look at the best price you can get on a used PC, then take that same amount to Dell.com and a local computer store and see what that buys for a new one. Also, Dell and Gateway have "outlet" stores online that sell PCs for discounts.

Question: You wrote about Ad-Aware software you can install to remove spyware from your PC. I can't find it.

Answer: The easiest place to download Ad-Aware is at www.lavasoftusa.com, though it is available on most large download sites as well.

Question: Will Norton 2002/3 not catch and delete worms and Trojans? What are the chances of downloading an Ad-Aware file that has a virus in it also? It scares me to death to download programs posted on many different sites. What is to stop some clever programmer from embedding a virus in an anti-virus program? Seeing as how someone spoofed the eBay Web site, how hard would it be to set up a fake Ad-Aware site to propagate Trojans, worms, viruses, etc.? Is not telling the common Joe to go and do such inviting high-risk computing?

Answer: Good points, but downloading files from reputable sites (and the manufacturer's site) is pretty safe.

Products like Ad-Aware are on sites like zdnet.com, download.com and others. I agree that downloading files from personal sites is a bad plan. And no, Norton and anti-virus software won't stop "spyware" and some Trojans from infecting your PC. Eventually I hope one product will take care of all of these annoyances.

Question: When I receive advertising e-mail (spam), I unsubscribe using the address at the bottom of the e-mail. Someone told me that I shouldn't unsubscribe, that this will give me more spam! Is this true? If so, how do I stop receiving spam mail?

Answer: Yes. Never use the "click here to unsubscribe" link in spam. What that does is get you on the "sucker" list and proves to the spammer that your mailbox is, in fact, read by a person. That means your address gets sold to more spammers at a higher price. To stop spam will take a U.N. resolution and an invasion of allied armed forces. In the meantime, invest in a "spamkiller" software that will help get rid of some of the spam. Also, urge your Internet service provider to filter spam at the server level.

Question: I have a problem with Netscape. I was using 4.7, then I purchased a CD from Netscape for 7.0. When I installed it, everything went fine and the program did fine. After a while, for some reason, I could not use the browser buttons to either go back or forward. I even un-installed the program and re-installed, thinking this would do the job. However, it did not work. When I use IE, I have no problem with the back or forward buttons.

Answer: Two fixes. One, set up a new profile in Netscape. And make sure your History is set to greater than 2.

WEEKLY WEB WONDER: Another visit to Willard Library and its fabled "gray lady ghost" is in order. Check it out at www.libraryghost.com.

James Derk is new media editor for The Evansville Courier & Press. His e-mail address is jderk@evansville.net.