IT Queries: Computer problems answered

Further to our post on disabling unsolicted downloads, here are the instructions on disabling Quick Time’s update services.

In Windows, click Start, Control Panel  and select QuickTime.

The QuickTime preferences panel has a number of tabs across the top. Select Updates and take the tick off Check for updates automatically. Click OK and it’s done.

The process is the same for the Apple Mac, click the Apple Icon in the top left hand corner, select Preferences and go to the Quick Time preferences from there.

With all programs, QuickTime is updated on a regular basis so it’s a good idea to check for updates every month or so.

I currently have a PC with CA Virus checker, Sygate Personal Firewall, Adaware and Spybot.
I am thinking of changing to an IMac at the end of the year.  Do I need all of this security/checking stuff for an IMac?

The short answer is no. Spyware is unique to Windows and, while Macs can theoretically be affected by viruses and worms, their superior security model means it is far harder for that to happen.

So you don’t really need to worry about these things, although you should still install the regular Apple updates as there are security holes in all operating systems.

When i try to open my mail on yahoo internet explorer, it says that the security certificate authority is not valid or has expired.

So,it asked me to proceed and i click yes but still it won’t open.

I tried with several attempts. I also checked and viewed the certificate and it says the same.

Now, the internet yahoo explorer wont open anymore as well as my yahoo messenger. Everytime i open Yahoo mail, it says that the page cannot be displayed. What’s wrong with it?

The first thing you need to check is the date and time of your computer. If these are wrong, you may get this message.

To check the time, double-click the time in the bottom right hand corner and it will come up.

In Internet Explorer you can clear the SSL settings by clicking Start, Control Panel and selecting Internet Options.

In the Internet Options click the Content tab then the Clear SSL state then OK.

Should the problem still continue, then there may be a problem with the website. This is something outside of your control and you’ll have to contact the site owner.

Further to our post on disabling unsolicted downloads, here are the instructions on disabling Real Player’s services.

Click the Windows XP Start button and click Run then type realplay and click OK

When Real Player opens click the Tools menu and select Preferences.

In the Real Player preferences, the settings are in category menu along the left hand side of the screen.

Click Automatic Services and select Auto Update. Take the tick off Automatically download and install important updates.

Then select Message Center and click the Configure Message Center button and uncheck Check for new messages and Show Message Center icon in the System Tray.

Click OK, take note of the stern warning and click Yes then close Real Player.

With Real Player it’s worthwhile checking every six months or so if any serious updates have been released.

We have MS Windows XP Pro Version 2002 Service Pack 2, 80gb Hard Drive, 512mg Memory. We keep getting the MS pop-up `Virtual Memory low`. What does this mean and what can we do about it? Please help.

Hi, we’ve previously covered the problem. It’s best when you set the maximum memory to put it at the maximum 4000Mb.

Another possible cause for unsolicited updates is the Mac updater. This is straightforward to turn off.

Click the Apple icon in the top right hand corner of the screen and select system preferences from the menu.

In the system preferences, select the Automatic Updates icon and take the tick off the box beside Check for Updates.

You should keep in mind when doing this that Apple regularly release updates and bug fixes so it is good practice to check for updates every month. 

The first way of reducing unsoliticed downloads is to turn off Windows Automatic Updates.

To do this, click start, settings and click on Control Panel. 

On Windows XP machines, it may be necessary to click Switch to Classic View

In the Control Panel, click Automatic Updates (for XP) or Windows Update (for Vista).

Once in the Update control panel, click the option “Notify me but don’t automatically download or install them”

Note that it is important to regularly update your operating system as they are an important part of protecting your computer from newly discovered bugs and security flaws.

I have been receiving unsolicited large (240Mb)downloads, and only found out about them by looking at my bigpond usage monitor. I would like to find out where they come from, but BigPond cannot or will not identify the source. I run XP ver 2, two year old computer, have a Bigpond wireless USB (blue) modem, do not have a LAN, and I am the only one who uses the computer. Is there a utility which will identify the source of the downloads?

There are utilities that will do that for you, but the information you get is difficult to understand unless you really understand the Internet (which is why Bigpond support can’t help you).

It’s probably easier to kill off whatever is downloading the excess data. In your case it’s probably Windows or another program automatically trying to update itself and there’s a number of things you can do to turn these programs off.

I’ll cover the specifics of turning off the automatic downloads in Windows Update, Real Player and Apple QuickTime and iTunes in the next posts, in the meantime you may want to check you don’t have any spyware on your computer just to be safe.

This is an easy one! In Vista Home Basic, how can I have Explorer opening up in full screen everytime i open it up and other pages.

Yep, that’s pretty easy, but it is an irritating Internet Explorer habit of remembering the size it was last opened at.

To fix this, close all Internet Explorer pages then open a single Internet Explorer page. Click on each corner of the IE screen and drag it to the size you want.

Hold down the CTRL key and close IE. In future it will start in that size.

Another alternative is to reset Internet Explorer. Be warned though that this can change other settings. Microsoft have instructions on doing this and list what features are reset.

I am having this continual pop up on my screen which tells me wg111cfg MFC app has caused a problem. Can you help me at all.  Thanks

regards, Karen.

Hi Karen, 

The problem is your wireless network card, which is a Netgear WG111. 

The simplest solution is to download the updated software from the Netgear website then uninstall the existing Netgear software.

If you’re still stuck, you should give your local computer technician a call to check where the problem lies.