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© St. Petersburg Times, published November 19, 2001
Q. Do you have any recommendations about monitoring or blocking cookies and the personal information they extract? Are there programs that will allow this selectively? How do I know which cookies I can safely delete from my cookie files?
A. First you need to understand that cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Their primary purpose is to provide a convenience that you can use to save time. Cookies are a way for Web sites to remember information that you have previously entered, such as name, address or site passwords. Cookies can only be read by the host site that created them (make sure your Internet Explorer browser is version 5.1 SP1 or above). However, third-party cookies can be placed from other host sites (usually from banner ads).
Internet Explorer 6.0 has settings to block and prevent third-party cookies that do not conform to the Platform for Privacy Preferences, or P3P, specification. This is the default setting. You can check or modify these settings from the IE menu bar by clicking Tools, Internet Options, then the Privacy tab.
The privacy settings are one of the more important reasons to upgrade to IE 6. IE 5 will allow you to selectively select cookies. You can access the options to turn this on by clicking Tools, Internet Options, Security tab, then clicking the Advanced button and scrolling down to the Cookies setting. Here you can select Prompt, which will allow you to interactively accept cookies.
Other than missing some conveniences, it is safe to delete cookies. My recommendation is to upgrade to IE 6 and use the default settings for cookies.
Q. My system is infected with the virus W32.Magistr.24876@mm. Several people in my address book have reported getting strange e-mail from me that is obviously infected. McAfee virus protection software does not detect the virus. I have downloaded updates to the virus protection software, but the virus remains. I have installed a personal firewall. How do I clean this virus out of my system?
A. You need to contact McAfee. Its latest DAT updates detect and remove this virus. Since you say you have tried this and it didn't work, something is wrong with your antivirus detection. You should contact McAfee support immediately.
A personal firewall will be meaningless in preventing this type of virus. It arrives as an executable, or .EXE, file which you must have run from within an e-mail message or from a newsgroup download. I can't overemphasize this point: Never run an .EXE file that you receive in an e-mail or from a newsgroup download, whether you know the sender or not.
Icons on the desktop that move when the mouse cursor passes over them is an indication that the system is infected with this virus.
Outlook Express version 6.0 has new options (accessible from Tools, Options, Security tab) that automatically block potentially harmful attachments and warn you when other programs, such as viruses or harmful attachments, attempt to send messages from your computer. Windows XP takes this a step further, taking advantage of safer technology to run potentially harmful attachments in a sandbox, or an area in memory where the program cannot make calls that affect your hard drive or registry.
Q. I have Microsoft Outlook at work and home. At work, when I use the contact directory, it gives me multiple e-mail addresses for people that have them. At home, it lists only the default e-mail address and hides the others. How do I set Outlook at home to offer more than one e-mail address?
A. On the Outlook menu bar click Views, Current View, Define Views. Select Current View Settings, click the Modify button, then the Fields button. From the Select Available Fields From list, select E-mail Fields. From the Available Fields list box, click E-mail 2, then the Add button. Click OK, OK, then Close.
For the early birds already running Windows XP, make sure you go to the Windows Update site (www.windowsupdate.com). There are updates already waiting for changes made since August when XP was sent to manufacturers.