Welcome to my hot flashes!

I have two issues to discuss for this Hot Flash that I hope will be of some help. Here goes...

The world of viruses has changed yet again. I am seeing a lot more destructive infections taking the place of the "stealthy" virus types that steal passwords and information or clog up e-mails.

Over the last months, several virus variants have appeared that corrupt Windows system files and pretty much make your PC unbootable without a repair (and that's if you catch it in time). If it reaches this stage, you may have only one option - reformatting the hard drive. That means that you will lose everything that is not backed up. Most of you know how to back up files on your PC, but many forget the files in your email application that contain all your emails and address book information.

Back Up Your Email

For Outlook Express users:

To compact and back up e-mail folders in Outlook Express:

1. On the File menu, point to Folder, and then click Compact All Folders.
2. Use the "Find" or "Search" command under Start and look for *.dbx files. Note their location.
3. To back up the email folder, find the folder file, and then copy it to a backup folder on another drive, floppy disk, or CD. Outlook Express e-mail files have a .dbx extension (for example, "Sent Items.dbx").
4. Transfer the files.
Notes:
Some message files might be too large to back up onto a floppy disk.

That takes care of email messages.

To save your address book:

1. On the "Tools" menu, click "Address Book..." to open a new window.
2. On the "File" menu, click the "Export" command.
3. Select the folder and a name to save under on your hard drive and click "Save"

The file will be called xxxx.wab (where xxxx is the name you chose).

Back up this file to disk or CD the same way you did the .dbx files for mail.

For Outlook users:

Search for .pst files on your PC and copy them to a disk or CD.

This should save you a lot of grief, should you have to reformat your hard drive It is worth considering to take the time, NOW, to back things up because, once infected, you may not have the opportunity to do so. Also, don't forget to check that you know your email username and password? If you lose the data on your hard drive, you will have to retrieve your username and password from your ISP if you don't have it written down in a safe place.

Windows XP Service Pack 2

If you are running anything other than Windows XP, you do not have to read any further. (unless you are curious). Those of you who have Windows XP will most likely have heard of Service Pack 2 (SP2). If you haven't, you need to do some catching up, as this is a critical update for PC's running Windows XP. In a nutshell, SP2 was released to patch a security flaws in Windows XP and so you should consider updating your operating systems with SP2, if you haven't already done so. (Attempting to update illegitimate installations of Windows XP will disable your computer when updating). We strongly recommend that your PC use only authentic Windows software. It simply isn't worth it.

If you want to learn more about Windows XP SP2, go here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx

You need to decide for yourselves whether you want to do the update. Some people have experienced problems after upgrading, from programs and peripherals not working properly to losing all e-mails and addresses to having boot problems. Others have had smooth sailing. Only you can decide what you want to do. I recommend it, but you need to back up all of your critical data before updating. You need to READ all about SP2 before making your decision. Only YOU know what you have on your PC, its age, how you use it, etc.

Here are some issues that you may run in to after installing SP2:

The system hangs on a restart, which forces you to either boot into Safe Mode, System Restore, or the Recovery Console. It's been discovered that an incompatable BIOS is the problem. For those of you who want to learn more, here's a good link:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/bios.htm

There is a particular BIOS/SP2 problem that affects Intel Pentium 4 processors and Intel Celeron D processors based on Prescott C-o stepping. You can go to the Intel site and, by carefully following their instructions, see if your PC uses one of these processors.

This is the link:
http://support.intel.com/support/processors/tools/frequencyid/sb/cs-007616.htm

If you have a BIOS that doesn't work with the Intel provided production support update in SP2, you could have a problem. However, the good folks at Microsoft have created a critical update that you can download and install before SP2 that will alleviate the problem. Read all about it and download it here, if you decide to load SP2:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885626

One more thing to be aware of with Microsoft Windows SP2 is that it installs the Windows XP firewall. If you are using a different firewall, like Zone Alarm, you MUST turn the Windows firewall off. You do this via the Security Center. When you do this, don't let the warning messages scare you when turning the XP firewall off, just go ahead and choose to monitor the firewall, yourself. The same goes with older versions of Norton. Just choose to monitor yourself and the warnings will go away. If you aren't running any other firewall, you should leave the Windows XP firewall on. It will help protect you from internet marauders.

I'll have some more on XP Service Pack 2 in my next Hot Flash. Until then, stay safe in cyberspace.

Tip: Blocking e-mail Senders
Yes, you can block e-mails being sent from specific e-mail addresses.
If you use Outlook Express, all you have to do is highlight the offending message, then click the "Message" dropdown. Click "Block Sender..." and you will not see e-mail from that particular e-mail address, again. Please note that the email message will still download to your PC when you check your e-mail, but you can choose to automatically delete it or store it in a folder somewhere. The sender will not know that you have blocked their e-mail address, either.
If you accidentally block an e-mail address or want to unblock an address, simply click "Tools" "Message Rules," then the "Blocked Senders List." It will show a list of blocked addresses. Highlight the one you want to unblock and click "Remove." You will, then, be able see e-mails from that address.

28 February 2005