Inbox

By DON McALLISTER

Welcome to InBox, where we attempt to answer your internet questions.

Grant bought software offered in a spam email, but after forking out hard-earned dollars the site failed to load and no software was forthcoming. An email to the vendor bounced and he began to worry.

I checked the site and it turned out to be busy. When I tried again at 7am, it dished out all the required software. Many international sites work well in the early morning when circuits are quiet. You were very lucky, Grant, I thought you may have burnt those bucks.

John's "internet-only" line had a large international charge and he's very concerned. Telecom explained that his modem probably dialled the call, and suggested a toll bar on that line to stop it happening again.

It's a scam that's been operating for many years now, John. While surfing, someone has clicked a link to download "Special Viewer" software giving restricted site access - normally to adult material. This sneaky file tells your modem to disconnect and switches off the speaker, then dials a 0900-type number in an obscure country. As you found, the charge can be phenomenal. Someone, most likely a teen resident in your home, has some explaining to do.

Can Outlook Express and Outlook share the same address book? asks Robert.

No problem. Open Outlook Express and go to Tools/Address Book/Tools/Options. Select Share Contact Information.

Briar wants to stop Outlook Express downloading emails with big attachments.

It's a cinch. Open Outlook Express and go to Tools/Message Rules/Mail/New. Select "where the message size is more than size". In the middle box, select "do not download it from the server". In the bottom box, click on the blue word "size" and enter the maximum message size. Name the rule and press OK.

* If there's anything you want to know about the exciting world of the web, just email inbox@nzherald.co.nz.