1. Problems Opening Attachments in OE
If you have problems opening attachments using Outlook Express (OE) v6, my wife and others have had this problem as well and I want to share the solution with you. It has to do with a setting in the software. In OE v6, if you click on the Tools menu item and click on the Options menu selection you get the Options dialog box. Click on the Security tab. About one-third of the way down there is an option that says “Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus” – if this option is checked/selected, you will get the blocking behavior. Just uncheck that box, click OK and exit OE and start it again. Then you should be able to open the attached file. If you are running a good virus program, you should not need that option anyways – you are running Norton AntiVirus or equivalent, right? See the next story for more information on keeping your computer safe from viruses.
2. Keeping Your Computer Safe – Viruses
It seems that every few months there is another dire warning of impending computing doom due to the latest virus to infect computers. It amazes me that more people do not have a good virus checking program installed and running all the time. Maybe it is because they think it won’t happen to them and only believe after it has already happened. I know that’s what made me believe. A couple of years ago I got a virus and infected a client of mine and all the computers at home. That’s when I smartened up and vowed to not let it happen again. I use Norton Anti-Virus, but McAfee or other major packages will do the same. Make sure to turn on the feature that updates your virus definitions automatically when you connect to the Internet so you are always protected. I also set it to automatically scan every incoming e-mail and at all times when I am working in case a network virus tries to attack. Instead of renewing the update service each year, I buy the latest version so that I always have the most up to date engine and the latest techniques for finding these bugs. I also reduce the chances of a virus by having a policy of never opening an attachment unless I was expecting it. A virus will make your life miserable, so if you aren’t running a virus checking program now, please go get one and install it – you don’t want to go through what I did to learn a hard lesson. Next time we will talk about strategies for dealing with spam.
3. Useful Resource – www.cdrfaq.org
Many times in this newsletter I have talked about creating a CD or “burning” a CD. I have recommended Nero Burner as my favorite software to do this. If you want to more about this process of creating a CD, you have to check out http://www.cdrfaq.org. It is quite a comprehensive site with everything you ever and never wanted to know about creating CD’s. Well worth a look.