InBox

By DON McALLISTER

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

Q. Hugh has alerted us to the return of an old "bogus sender" trick favoured by cyber-criminals because it's so effective at gleaning information from the unwary.

A. Pretending to come from Microsoft or Ebay, these emails look real because they are copies of the real correspondence. But their purpose is to either put viruses or Trojans on your PC or to dupe you into giving credit card or personal information by directing you to a clone site.

The site may look like Ebay, or your bank or online store accounts page, but if you start typing information into a form on these sorts of sites it is fed - usually by key-logger software - to the waiting cyber-crook.

Microsoft, Ebay and most banks never distribute fixes or patches this way, and remember that when you are doing anything on a website that involves money or passwords, double-check the authenticity of the web address. When in doubt, make a phone call.

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Q. Garrick can't seem to select any more than 16 colours in Windows. "What's wrong?" he asks.

A. Your video card driver files have been lost or damaged, Garrick.

Locate the video card installation disks and detect/install the drivers using Control Panel/Add Remove Hardware. Or identify the manufacturer of the card and check their site for the latest matching driver downloads.

Alternatively, go to Driver Guide, which lists most component drivers (including many now obsolete or unavailable).

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Q. Mal upgraded to a new machine, then trashed anything that looked unwanted on the old one. Now the old machine refuses to connect to his internet provider yet the new one has no problem. "Is this because my internet account is now specific to my new machine?"

A. No, Mal. Both should work as long as both don't dial up together. Internet providers disconnect if they see two logins on one account at once.

It sounds like you've nuked something you shouldn't have in the personal dial-up settings. Delete the old dial-up and recreate it using Start/Programs/Accessories/Communications/Internet Connection Wizard.

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Q. What is TweakUI?

A. The answer to this question was meant to run last week as a follow-on to Ian's mouse problem, which was solved using this program.

TweakUI lets you mess with Windows components normally inaccessible to the average user.

Sometimes these items can be started without your knowledge and this little Microsoft program allows you to access those settings without having to mess with fragile components such as the registry. Use it with care to enhance your Windows experience.



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