IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I bought a Mac because I was fed up with my kids infecting the family computer. Now I’m reading Macs may be more vulnerable because virus writers attack popular computer systems. Is this true and should I get an anti virus for my Mac?

The short answer is “no”. The “big target” story is peddled by people who either have no understanding of computer security or have an interest in selling anti virus software.

In reality the bad guys go for the easy targets and in the world of computer security there’s no easier target than Windows.

In a recent Security Intelligence Report, Microsoft pointed out the first version of Windows XP was by far the most susceptible to viruses. This was due to lousy security (the built in firewall was disabled in XPs early versions) and countless security bugs.

But the main reason for Windows being the malware writers’ favourite operating system is Microsoft’s decision to let Windows users run as Administrators with full control over changing system settings and install software.

Most other operating systems, including Apple OSX, insist users run in without the ability to change system settings.

This fundamental flaw leaves most Windows users wide open to malware infections. Virus and spyware writers just have to get access to the machine and simply visiting a website offering free games, pornography or music lyrics is enough to get many systems infected.

While it is important to take security seriously on all operating systems, including Linux and OS X, by making sure you update security patches and keep your system behind a firewall, Windows has the biggest problems.

Don’t be panicked by ignorant or dishonest advice.

Where the deleted matter goes after deleting a file? i know it goes in the recycle bin but even after deleting from there where does that file goes. is there any software incorporated in the system which receives the file or whatever the reason is please clear the doubts.

When you empty the recycle bin on a Windows computer the files don’t actually go anywhere. Instead Windows adds a character, usually shown as the “$” sign, to the beginning of the file’s name. This marks it as unreadable to the computer.

Because the computer doesn’t see those files it thinks the space on the hard drive is empty and eventually the files are overwritten by newer information.

The problem is that leaves a period where they can be recovered. A good tool for doing this is the Restoration program which we’ve discussed previously in our Recovering Deleted Files post.

If you are concerned about fully removing deleted files, then you’ll need a “shredder” program such as Eraser which we looked at in our Clearing Out a Computer post.

Eraser is a very powerful tool which will clean up deleted files but be careful because if you click the wrong button, you may wipe the entire computer.

I keep getting an “incorrect function” error whenever I try to burn a CD on my Windows XP computer.

It sounds like the CD burning function in Windows has been turned off. To fix this open My Computer, right click on the CD-R and select Properties.

In the Properties box select the Recording tab and tick the Enable CD recording on this drive.

Click okay, reboot and recording should work on the system.

My problem is  with Windows XP sp3 and the Firefox web browser. The problem has become worse over last few days.

When I download attachments from Yahoo emails & software programmes the file extensions are not there. Can’t open them on my pc even when try the “Open with…” tab. Files show as “_auto_file”.  All of them show up under the Windows Media Player symbol which is wrong so file type is unrecognised and unable to open.

Tried using Internet Explorer as web browser, but it wouldn’t even let me download.  Yesterday, was able to download one of the Mozilla files (opened using Adobe Reader) from the Mozilla help chat line.  Why could I receive that one file ok when none of the others will?

It sounds like something has messed up your file associations so the computer doesn’t know what to do with the files once you have downloaded them.

It’s an irritating problem we’ve covered before in our Cannot Open Programs post.

Another problem that can affect downloads is not having enough space on your hard drive. This will stop programs downloading and installing properly.

We detail how to free up space on your hard drive at our speeding up a computer post. Follow those instructions to make sure you have space on your system.

My operating system is Windows XP and my ISP is Chariot/Picknowl dialup. When I try to use dial-up connection I receive “Error 720″ message.

A friend of mine said it could be something to do with loss of a registry key? It seems to have occurred since I turned on Windows Update to automatically download updates.

Do I have to re format drive by saving my files and inserting Windows XP disc, or is there an easier way.

Any suggestions?

Your problem has come from a moden driver upgrade that’s messed up your network settings. Thankfully you won’t have to reinstall anything.

To fix it, click Start, Run and type CMD.

At the command box type netsh winsock reset catalog

This will reset your network settings back to normal and your dial up connection should work.

Note if you have a firewall or all in one security program this command might cause some problems and if that’s the case, you should call for some IT assistance.

As you recommended in your checking a disk for errors column, I ran Check Disk and it said I have “Bad Clusters”.

What does this mean?

Basically your hard drive is dying. Bad blocks mean there is damage to the surface of the disks and its a matter of time before your system stops working.

The first thing you must do is backup your data. Make sure everything valuable is off your computer.

When you’re happy everything important has been saved, get the computer to your local computer shop. They’ll be able to tell you whether the computer is worth repairing or if the costs are better spent on a new system.

Windows explorer crashes on start up with Win XP Pro SP3 also crashes Dr Watson then PC freezes – restart usually same except PC doesn’t freeze. All ok with safe mode then crashes on normal reboot.

The problem is something problematic is loading when the computer starts normally.

While in Safe Mode, uninstall any old software you don’t use and clean up your hard drive using Disk Manager by clicking Start, Programs, System Tools and Disk Manager.

Once disk manager scans your drive, tick all the boxes and allow it to run.

When that’s finished check your disk for errors, this will require a reboot.

If serious errors are found on the disk, or the problem still persists, it may be necessary to access to drive from an emergency disk to repair any virus or remove data from a dying drive. This is best done by a technician.

I connected a usb hard drive to my dish dvr, and it reformatted it. I connected the drive to my computer, and the disk manager (the only way I could find the drive on the computer) says it is partitioned into 4 partitions, all of which are “unknown partitions”.

I want to be able for the dvr and my computer to read, swap, and play the videos on the hard drive.

I called Dish and they said they reformat into fat32, but again, my computer (XP Pro) doesn’t recognize it. Help???

The problem is the hard drive isn’t partitioned in a way your computer or DVR understands.

To fix this, plug the hard drive into your computer. Wait until the Removable Device icon appears or a message saying a new device has been installed.

From the desktop right click on My Computer and select Manage

In the Management Console go down the left hand side list and select Disk Management.

The right hand side of the Management Console will now split into two. The top half shows the formatted partitions such as the C: and D: drives. While the bottom half shows the actual disks.

In the bottom half scroll down until you find the new disk. It will show the disk split into four partitions with each marked as “unknown”.

Right click each of the unknown partitions and select Delete Partitionand follow the wizard.

After deleting all four of the unknown partitions you can start create a new partition by right clicking the drive and selecting Create Partition

Windows will start a Partition Wizard. Of the options you receive, you should choose to create a Primary partition and select the largest size possible.

At the end of the wizard you’ll be asked to format the drive. You need to do this and select Fat 32 in the File Type box when asked.

Keep in mind FAT32 has a number of limitations including being limited to 2Gb files which can create problems for backups and saving DVD sized files.

I have Norton 360 V.3 on my PC running on Windows XP.

For the last month the Norton 360 Live Updates have not been working. I’ve contacted the Norton people and had them manually updated but this hasn’t fixed the problem as the automatic update still doesn’t work.  They uninstalled and reinstalled the programme twice but this made no difference.

They’ve now told me that I have a ctfmon.exe virus which will have to be fixed by Microsoft.  How can I have a virus when I have Norton 360 running all the time and how do I have it fixed?

First the ctfmon.exe file may not be a virus. This is a normal Microsoft Office file, so you shouldn’t assume you have an infection.

The first thing is to check you don’t have a virus and you should do this by following the instructions in our removing a Trojan page.

Once you’re happy you’ve cleared any possible virus infection, you’ll need to clean up your computer.

The next step is to update your Windows Scripting Host as Norton 360 relies on this to work properly.

With your computer now cleaned and up to date, download the latest Norton 360 update and install this.

After rebooting, check Norton 360 is updating. If not, follow the Troubleshooting Live Update instructions on the Symantec website.

The Windows Scripting Host is an important part of all Windows versions later than the first version of Windows 95. It automates various functions and it’s critical to operation of various Windows features like Automatic Updates.

It does have some problems however and using it to infect Windows computers through “drive by downloads” has been a favourite trick of virus and spyware writers in recent years.

While it does create security problems for Windows users, it is an essential part of the system so you need the latest updates for it.

Microsoft have a number of updates for Windows Scripting;

• Windows XP and Server 2003 users should download Version 5.7
• Windows 2000, 98 and ME users should use Version 5.6.
• Vista users should use Windows PowerShell

It’s best to download and install the appropriate package and then run the Windows Update program.