IT Queries: Computer problems answered

System: Windows XP.  On start up I’m getting a message “C:\WINDOWS\system32\igghxjtd.dll

The specified module could not be found”.

This is since my PC was cleaned up after being infected by PC Cleaner. On the other hand it is also after my son removed some old games.

The problem is some remains of the spyware is still around on your system. In this case, the reference to some of it in the startup processes. When the computer starts it looks for the igghxjtd.dll file, can’t find it and so warns you.

To fix this, you need to run the Microsoft System Configuration tool (msconfig), choose the startup tab and take the tick off the igghxjtd item.

It’s worthwhile also giving the system another scan for viruses and Trojans as well.

I access my work email from a website which then runs through Microsoft Outlook. No problem until i bought my new computer (Vista Home) - everything seems ok but i can’t reply to an email. I can enter addresses and titles, but the main text box has a small white square with a red cross in.

The problem is the security settings in Internet Explorer 7. By default many functions are blocked and this restricts many of the scripting features required for remotely connecting to Outlook.

To fix this you need to add the site to the Trusted Zone. Go to your Outlook web page and click Tools and Options.

Select the Security tab then the Trusted Sites zone. Click Add Sites to the Trusted Zone then Add a Site to the Trusted Zone, make sure you take the tick off the box that reads Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone.

Save the settings and restart Internet Explorer and the problem should be fixed.

everytime I open my internet explorer there is an error appear on the lower right corner of my monitor saying”System Messaged click here for details”. then when I click the message it automatically go to one site. what is the problem? is this a virus? thanks.

Unfortunately you probably are infected with something, follow our Removing a Trojan advice. If you have clicked for details and paid any money to these people then you should contact your credit card company. We’d also strongly recommend changing banking and other important passwords after your computer has been cleaned.

I am operating Vista, with a Bigpond account.  I continue to have problems with my e-mail account.  Bigpond instruct me to have no firewall, so it is turned off.  I am not comfortable with this solution, however they say the firewall interfers with the e-mail.

Can you give me some advice on this please?

It sounds like the firewall or anti-virus program is blocking access to the mail server. You’ll need to make sure your email program is trusted by the firewall and the email server is trusted, in Bigpond’s case this is mail.bigpond.com.

In the Windows firewall,  you should add your email program to the trusted applications list by Start, Control Panel and Network Connections. Select your Internet connection, the name will vary with your computer.

In the General tab of the Internet connection properties, click the Properties button and the Advanced tab. Click Settings under the Firewall heading and click Exceptions.

In the Exceptions list, select your email program by ticking the box beside or clicking the Add Program if it isn’t listed.

There are some settings in Norton Antivirus where you can make similar exceptions. In recent versions, this has been under the heading of Internet Worm Protection.  The location of these settings varies between programs.

Since I’ve upgraded to Internet Explorer 7 I’ve lost the padlock icon that tells me when I’m on a secured site. Am I protected when I go to my bank’s website?

With the new release of Internet Explorer, Microsoft have changed the location of where the padlock icon is shown. Rather than put it in the bottom right hand corner where every browser, including previous versions of Internet Explorer, have placed it, they’ve put it next to the address bar near the top right hand corner.

I have a laptop just over 2yrs old running Windows XP SP2 without virus problems.Your advise has been helpful and I have been running AVG 7.5 anti-virus and Windows Defender.I have had no troubles with viruses until recently.On the 25th of January 2008 three “Exploit” viruses were found and quarantined and two more were found on the 29th,using the morning “complete scan”.

It brings into question the effectiveness of this version of AVG.

What’s happened is AVG has found an attempted Internet Explorer malware attack in your Firefox or Opera file cache. The anti virus didn’t report it because the script didn’t attempt to run.

The writers of AVG, Grisoft, have made a choice not to scan these Javascript applets because it would slow down the computer and web browsing. If you are concerned about these, then you can add .js programs to the Resident Shield in the paid version, or just tell AVG to scan all files in the free version.

Be warned though, this will slow your computer dramatically.

In our view, it’s better to setup users with Limited User profiles which prevents these things from being able to get on your computer.

The fact these exploits didn’t run on your system is a good sign that you are practicing safe computing. I’d be more reassured than worried.

help, I’ve been told that my password has been stolen. How do I protect it in future.

There’s all manner of ways your password can be compromised.

Popular ones are using a password that relatives and colleagues know, such as your dog’s or kids names. Others ways are using easy passwords, the word password is apparently the most common password.

Our previous post looked at creating strong passwords and that’s the first defense you have against the bad guys.

There are more sinister ways you can lose it, one of the reasons for phishing sites is to harvest passwords. A fake message for a bank or online retailer is to grab usernames and passwords. The bad guys assume you’ll use the same username and password for most of your sites.

There’s silly ways to lose your password as well. Leaving your password on a sticky note attached to your computer monitor is a classic.

One common problem is people giving out their usernames and passwords over their mobile phone while in a public place. You’ll be shocked how many people give out details like account numbers and passwords while sitting in airport lounges or on buses.

Sadly though, you can also lose it through no fault of your own. Some legitimate businesses are less careful than they should be with your details. Because of this, we recommend changing your password on a regular basis.

So the fundamentals to protecting your password are three three points;

Choose a good, secure password

Be careful about where and who you give it out to

Change them regularly

I’m worried about the passwords I’m using and wondering how I can make them harder to break

Passwords are serious worry. Most people have two or three passwords that they regularly use and if one of them gets revealed, then there can be a serious problem.

On top of this, many people use very simple passwords that are easy to guess, such as their dog’s name, this is a risk when dealing with family members, staff or colleagues.

A slightly more obscure, but still real, risks is many passwords are a simple combination of numbers or letters and these can be quickly broken by dictionary or “brute force” attacks, where someone sets a computer program to try every possible combination of numbers and letters.

While even the strongest password would eventually fall to a determined and well resourced hacker it is possible to create a strong password with the following tips;

One popular trick is to take a phrase and use the initials to create a password. For instance; “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” becomes tqbfjotld.

That password then can be toughened by making the letters q and l capitals so we now have tQbfjotLd.

To strengthen it a bit more, we’ll change the letter b to an 8 and t to a 7 so we now have tQ8fjo7Ld.

The important thing is to have a password you can remember. If you have to write this password down and stick to your computer monitor, then all your hard work is wasted.

We’ll discuss protecting your passwords in another post.

My son has a computer running Windows 2000 Professional. He created a user name and password to to prevent a minor from accessing the computer. On closing it down and rebooting it he was refused access to the computer. how can he bypass the password to get in?

There is no way of bypassing the login screen if it has been setup, luckily there’s a number of useful tools that allow you to reset passwords.

The best tool in my view is the free Offline NT Password & Registry Editor by Peter Nordahl.

Your son will need to download the tool on another computer and then either burn it to CD or extract it to a floppy disk.

Once he’s done that, the locked computer should be started with the floppy or CD. This will start a mini version of Linux that has allows you to reset the Administrator password.

Read the instructions carefully! and take your time with the tool.

You should also be aware that if there are encrypted files in the Administrator profile, they will be inaccessible after resetting the password. There are also some problems with more advanced functions on Windows servers.

Once the Admin password has been reset, remove the disk, restart the computer and login into Windows using the name Administrator with no password.

Once in Windows, go to the Control Panel, click Users and reset the passwords for all users to something secure.

With minors, it’s a good idea to setup each user with their own Limited User profile. We have instruction on doing this on the PC Rescue website.

This process requires a fairly high level of computer skill, so if you find it’s too complicated, it’s best to call a qualified technician.

Have updated to Norton 360 on main computer now can’t access this computer on my network places

Regards John

Hi John,

The problem is almost certainly firewall related. The Norton 360 is blocking access from other computers.

This is proper behaviour for a firewall, unless told otherwise the system will block anything that’s potentially a problem and other people trying to connect to the computer is certainly a problem.

To fix this, you’ll need to tell Norton 360 to trust your local network.

Open Norton 360, click Tasks and Settings then Advanced Settings and Firewall Protection Settings.

In the Firewall settings, click Network Location. In there your network will be listed under Limited Locations, highlight it and click the arrow to it the Trusted Locations box.

There are some other errors that can cause this with the network sharing in Vista and XP which can be fixed through changing file permissions and network locations in the Vista Network and Sharing Center.