InBox

By DON McALLISTER

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

Q. The Sasser virus is hitting hard. Maxine's laptop is rebooting every 15 minutes, claiming an "LSA Shell Export problem".

A. It's a new virus called "Sasser", Maxine. Download this Microsoft patch. Once done, go to a page specifically about the Sasser worm, for the removal tool is posted there.

To protect your machine from this nasty worm and others, run Windows Update often to get the latest Microsoft patches. This virus is a serious threat. Even if you are not infected, download the MS04-011 patch immediately and install it.


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Q. "Google's new free Gmail with one gigabyte storage is a challenge to Hotmail and Yahoo. What can you tell us about it?" writes Jace.

A. There have been mixed reactions to this new service, Jace. Issues of password question security and privacy are raising questions. There's a concern that the customer's "lifetime" of email cannot be permanently deleted, and there's the dispute on "Gmail" name ownership. If that one gig box space negates the woes they have, obviously they are a good choice, especially if it helps increase e-mail storage in free e-mail providers. But at what hidden cost to our privacy?

If privacy or security are issues for you, you may prefer to watch from the sidelines for now.

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Q. Ron complains: "How do I get Internet Explorer to open in a new window? I right-click and choose "open in new window", but nothing happens (after a crash)."

A. The URLMON. DLL file controls many of IE's low-level functions, Ron. If it becomes unregistered; IE behaves weirdly. Go to Start/Run, and type: REGSVR32 URLMON. DLL. Open IE/Tools/Options/Programs and click the "Reset Web Settings" button.

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Q. A reply to last week's Smiley removal letter: Murray complains "www.help.smileycentral.com/troubleshooting.html" won't open. You added a www in front of the address, Murray. Remove that and it will work. Though the Smiley Central homepage is preceded by www, the help page, being an internal site link, is not.



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