FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  200 (24/02/00)

PASS TENSE

In your response to a query about password protection in Excel (F!F!F! February 10) you said that the user should, "write their password down and keep it in a safe place". Having been in computer network admin for a number of years this is the first time I have ever seen this advice given. In every position I have held users were told in no uncertain terms NEVER to write passwords down. I realise this user may be at home and it is not quite the same as a work environment but this can have massive data security issues.  I have already had a couple of users (who think they know best) shoving this letter in my face this morning with large smug grins on their faces… Thanks for making a job more difficult. Please note in future that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Daniel Sharpe

My Daddy has just read me your letter about forgetting my password and being locked out. I have done the same, and cannot access any of my files on Windows 98.  I have gone onto the websites you suggested but they only deal with Excel, NT4 or Word. Please can you help!

Simon Walsh, aged 8

Your answer to Dennis Body's query regarding his forgotten password in Excel, suggests he should always write down passwords and keep in a safe place. How commendable! As another 70 year old trying to keep up with his 10-year-old grandson I sympathise with Dennis Body, but would go even further. At our age one increasingly forgets where the “safe place" is!! There must be another way!!!

Peter Hillier

Most of us can remember two or three passwords or PIN number without too much difficulty but it’s not uncommon to need half a dozen of more of them in our daily lives and with the passing years, it becomes increasingly difficult to recall them all. It’s unwise to use the same one, so what’s the answer? We’re not suggesting anyone creates a written list, calls it ‘Passwords’ and leaves it lying around. There are many ways to disguise a set of passwords or PIN numbers, bogus phone numbers in an address book, simple scrambling – reversing the letter or number order – a diary entry using the letters to create a sentence, though of course you still have to remember how or where they’re hidden… If anyone has any tips for keeping their passwords safe we’ll happily pass them on.

Sorry, Daniel! Simon - we dare not risk incurring the wrath of any more readers (and parents and teachers) by showing you how to crack Windows password protection…

CHARACTER BUILDING

Using ALT + (Num Pad) to get various symbols and letters with accents -

is there anyone who produces a list of these?  I have been told that Lotus provided one in their manuals years ago, but not now. 

John Overton

You can of course get the four-digit assignment for any character used by Windows from Character Map (Start > Accessories > System Tools), though you may have to install it from Add/Remove programs (Windows Set-up tab) if it’s not there. Old MS DOS manuals also used to include characters sets, and you can find them listed on several Internet sites, including: http://www.jura.uni-freiburg.de/ipr1

/cisg/windows_characterset.htm

ON THE OFFENSIVE

How can I stop the receipt of unsolicited emails? I am receiving a dailyemail from some organisation calling itself "Dirt of the Day" which I certainly do not want to receive.
David Munro

Your first step should be to drop the sender of the offending email a short, firm but polite message that you want to be taken off their mailing list adding that you will complain to both your ISP and their host server if they do not stop forthwith. Most email programs include a facility to filter out unwanted messages from a particular address, sending them straight into the Bin or deleting them from the server; in Outlook Express it’s in Inbox Assistant (OE4) and Message Rules (OE5) on the Tools menu, in other programs consult the Help menu.

QUICK DROP

How do you add an Icon to the toolbar (not the System Tray) but to the left of it, and be able to double click and run the application?

Russell Sparshott

You are referring to the Quick Launch Toolbar, if it’s not shown right-click into an empty part of the Toolbar, select Toolbars from the menu that appears and click next to Quick Launch. To install an application icon simply go to Start > Programs, hold down the Crtl key, click on the icon and drag and drop it into the Quick Launch toolbar. 

USB OK?

I have a Mesh Pentium II PC fitted with two USB sockets. I cannot use the sockets since I require a "USB patch?", but I have also been told that Windows 95 does not support USB very effectively.

Peter Cockerill

Everything you have been told is true and whilst it may be possible to get the USB port working under Windows 95, it can be a long, laborious and ultimately fruitless exercise. The simplest solution is to upgrade to Windows 98, which has full USB support.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY

On my old machine, with I think Word 2.1, it was possible to move the cursor to any point in text or tab, press 'Shift+F6' then holding down 'Shift' move the cursor to another point on the text. This highlighted the area of text delineated by the original and final cursor positions. The highlighted area could then be manipulated i.e. copied, moved, deleted.

I have tried various options on my new machine with Word 97 in Windows 95 but am unable to carry out this function. Is it available in Word 97 and if so how do I access the command?

Mike Lummis

Move the cursor to the beginning of the block of text you want to highlight then hold down the shift key and use the cursor down arrow, to highlight a line at a time, and cursor right or left to move one character at time, Shift + Page down highlights a page at a time.

ALL AT SEA

I am teaching myself navigation at sea. Are you aware of a CD-ROM on the subject? The same question applies to simulation of navigating a ship, either as a game or serious practice.

Bob Platt

No doubt and we’ll throw this one open to our nautically inclined readers to suggest the best one.

EXPORT ORDER

Can you advise which file within Outlook Express holds the address/email data. Is it one of those listed in the C:\Program Files\Outlook Express folder? I need to back it up.

Steve Elliott

In OE 4 and 5 click on Export on the File menu, then Address Book, select Text File (comma separated values), then click the Export button and use the Browse button to choose a location, either on your hard disc or a floppy, give the file a name, select the fields you want to save and click Finish. If your original Address book is lost or corrupted, or you want to use it on another machine use the Import Command on the File menu to restore the file from your backup.

CHIP SHOP

At the office where I used to work (now closed) there was a game installed on the computer called 'Chips' which involved a little man running around a maze trying to solve various problems (a perfect displacement activity if ever there was one!).  I've tried tracking this down to install on my laptop but have drawn a blank at the major game shops.  Does anyone know where I can obtain this?

Philip Cole

It sounds very much like ‘Chip’s Challenge’, one of the games in the Best of Windows Entertainment Pack. Unfortunately it’s quite old and we couldn’t find anyone still selling it, so if anyone knows where a copy may be obtained please let us know.