• Here is an Open Office tip for MS compatibility.
A. Here's a tip for those of you who are stuck in a
Microsoft™-dominated world: Set your OpenOffice.org apps to always save to Microsoft™ formats. Select Tools, Options. In the dialog box that pops
up, select "General" from the "Load/Save" section on the left. Now look to the "Default file format" setting on the right. To make word
processing documents always save as Microsoft Word .doc files, select "Text document" under "Document type," and then choose "Microsoft Word
97/2000/XP" from the "Always save as" drop-down list.
Similarly, to save all spreadsheets as Excel .xls files,
select the "Spreadsheets" document type, and "Always save as," "Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP.
• My browser brings up the wrong email client.
A. You need to change the settings for your
browser. Here is the method for Internet
Explorer.
• What is meant by web site spoofing?
A. Over the last several weeks, many users have been receiving e-mails, which seem to have been sent from banks like Citibank,
PayPal or Ebay, telling them that, due to technical or other problems, they need
to access a web page to validate their bank details. All these e-mails are false, and are aimed at tricking
users into divulging confidential data such as account numbers, user names, passwords
or other secret codes and numbers.
These mails have been designed to exploit the URLSpoof vulnerability in Microsoft
Internet Explorer. This flaw makes it possible to trick a user into thinking that the web page they are accessing -which they have
been asked to access in order to check their bank details- is that of a bank. The
web page is actually a replica of the original, hosted elsewhere, so that the data entered -such as a credit card number- will fall
straight into the hands of the malicious user, allowing the attacker to easily and rapidly
commit financial fraud.
In order to avoid falling victim to this fraud, users should treat with extreme caution
e-mails from banks requesting confidential information. Before revealing any confidential information, users should confirm the
authenticity of the message by contacting the bank in question. Similarly, when accessing dubious websites, it is
recommendable to enter the address directly in the browser, instead of clicking on a link
to a website in which you need to enter confidential information.
If you wish to check the legitimacy of a site,
copy and paste this JavaScript into Internet Explorer's address window and hit
enter.
javascript:alert("The real URL of this site is: " +
location.protocol + "//" + location.hostname + "/");
• Is JAVA virtual machine installed on my computer?
A. Go here to check your Java for free (you can
also download here). http://www.java.com/en/download/help/win_manual.jsp
• How do I download email attachments with Outlook
Express (the option is grayed out)?
A. - open Outlook Express
- click tools, scroll click options
- click security tab
- de-select the box: Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could
potentially be a virus
- click Apply & Okay. Now try it!
• How do I activate Windows XP?
A. - Click
to go to Microsoft.com License activation
• How do I check my PC's vulnerability to hackers?
A. for a free internet security check, go to: http://www.symantec.com/smallbiz/npf/
scroll to the bottom left of the page and click on "test your exposure." (This is NOT
a recommendation of any specific product.)
A
more thorough, technical, free check is Steve Gibson's site.
• A
site (processlibrary.com) that provides helpful info on what Windows processes
are legit, and what are Badware.
• The sounds of a hard
drive dying!?
A. Courtesy
of Hitachi.
