FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  454 (22/02/05)

Q

Having only recently been able to connect to broadband I purchased hardware from and connected to Plus.net a month ago. Although they have sent me replacement filters, I have continuous white noise in my telephone and the system is often very reluctant (sometimes impossible) to connect to broadband. When it does connect it often disconnects frequently when it then becomes difficult to connect again.  The Plus.net helpline have not been able to solve the problem, BT has tested the line and I have had my computer checked. Any ideas?

Stella Percival, via email

A

There are several possibilities but first verify that the noise is actually coming from the broadband modem. Electrical and electronic devices, such as TV, PCs, radios, cordless phones and so on close to the phone line or phone socket can generate noise and interfere with the connection so switch the PC off and disconnect the cable to the phone socket and check the line again. If the modem is responsible ensure that the splitter and all of the micro filters are correctly installed, there should be one filter for each telephone connected to the line. Otherwise there‘s a helpful article on troubleshooting ADSL noise problems at:www.legend.co.uk/support/page.php?page=171 and work your way through the suggested remedies. One final through, you say you have only recently been able to install broadband. If you are at or close the limits of broadband operation in your area then it’s worth asking BT to recheck the line and if necessary adjust the gain.

Q

When placing mouse arrow over tool bar buttons in Word 2000, descriptions of what they do no longer appear. Can you help?

Jack Wright, via email

A

These are called ‘Screen Tips’, to re-enable them right-click into an empty area of the toolbar and select ‘Customize’ from the drop down menu, click the Options tab, check the item ‘Show Screen Tips on toolbars’ then Close.

Q

Using XP Home, I would like to be able to protect certain applications, such as Quicken or Word, with local passwords without putting password constraint on the whole system. Is this possible?

D. W. Satchell, via email

A

Windows XP has no built-in protection for applications; however, many programs have their own security features. Quicken’s password options are on the File menu and Word lets you password protect individual documents. With the document open select Save As on the File menu then choose General Options on the Tools drop-down menu, where you will find the password entry box. If you have a login password on your PC you can secure folders by right clicking on them in Windows Explorer, select Properties then the Sharing tab, check the box ‘Make this folder Private and follow the prompts. There is another slightly more convoluted method in XP Home and that is to right-click the folder you want to secure in Windows Explorer, select Send To > Compressed (zipped) folder, and this will lead you to options to compress and password protect the folder.

Q

In recent Boot Camp articles you have been recommending the use of the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email client. I have had some problems and wondered if you could help? How does one download Windows XP Updates using Firefox? I do not believe that the XP Windows automatic update system works under Firefox? If I am correct, would it not be a good idea for you to advise readers of this drawback. The Thunderbird spellchecker is American language based and is dire, is there anyway that I can use a British spell-check or link it into MS Word?

A. H., via email

A

I can put your mind at rest. If you visit the MS update site using Firefox (http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/) it automatically detects the fact and you will see a link at the bottom for those using non IE browsers. There is an English (UK) spellchecker for Thunderbird, though it may not be installed. When you spell check a message click the Language drop-down menu, if English (United Kingdom) isn't shown click 'download more' to install the new dictionary.

Q

Some of us at our Church are receiving virus e-mails, presumably coming via an infected computer possibly one of our contacts. My virus software picks each one up in turn and suggests it quarantines it.  This all takes quite a time.  How do we put a stop to this?

D. L. Lumb, via email

A

The first thing to do is ascertain whether they are all coming from the same email address. To do that right click on an infected email in your inbox, select Properties then the Details tab and click the Message Source button. Towards the top should be the sender’s email address. If it is someone you know then you should get in touch with them, advising that their computer is infected and they should take immediate action, by installing or updating their anti-virus software. However if it is from an unknown source you should not contact the sender directly but take a note of their address and ISP (the last part of the address). Visit the ISP home page (enter the domain name into Google) and email the support department, informing them that one of their customers is spreading viruses and provide them with the details. If the emails are coming from many different sources then there’s really not much you can do about it, apart from remaining vigilant.