Quick PC Fixes
By Lincoln Spector, PC World
Swift and easy cures for unwieldy Start menus, virus-infected USB drives,
and five other PC problems.
Our answer man provides fast, practical solutions to seven problems that put
users at odds with their PCs. On this page, he addresses the delicate task
of removing important files from a malware-infested flash drive without
transferring the aliens too. He also identifies the steps involved in
adjusting the settings for the Recent Documents list in Windows' Start Menu,
and reviews techniques for identifying third-party cookies in Internet
Explorer and Firefox.
Is there a way to get valuable documents off a virus-infected flash
drive?
Muhammad Salau, Lokoja, Nigeria
What a problem! It's scary just to plug in such a drive. Since most malware
is operating system-specific, it's a good idea to perform the file retrieval
on a non-Windows computer, such as a Mac or a Linux machine. For an easy and
safe way to boot Linux on your own PC, browse to my
Answer Line
column "
How
Can I Tell if My PC Has Caught a Virus" and scroll to the subhead "Boot
Without Windows."
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If you must plug the flash drive into a Windows PC, do it very carefully.
Before you attach the infected file, update Windows itself and all of your
security programs. Next, unplug all of your Internet and local network
connections, so your computer can't communicate with the outside world.
Now turn off AutoPlay for your flash drive. Windows XP users should do
this with
Tweak UI, a free Microsoft Powertoy. Once you've installed and opened
Tweak UI, navigate its left pane to My Computer, AutoPlay, Types.
Uncheck Enable Autoplay for removable drives, and click OK
or Apply.
If you use Vista, click Start, type autoplay,
and press Enter. For 'Software and games', select Take
no action and click Save.
Plug in the drive and move the files you need onto another removable storage
device (not your hard drive). The documents themselves could be infected, so
move only the ones you're sure you can't do without to a folder on the
removable medium, and scan that folder with every security program you have.
Finally, shut down the PC, remove and throw away the flash drive, plug the
PC back into the network, and reboot.
Always be mindful of Spector's First Law of Safe Computing: Never rely on
one copy of anything. If you had made backups of those important documents
before the infection, you could have thrown the unclean flash drive away at
the first sign of disease.
How do I control the Start Menu's Recent Documents list?
Keith Kushnir, Provo, Utah
To turn this list on or off, right-click the Start button,
select Properties, and click the Start Menu tab. In XP,
click Customize, Advanced, check or uncheck List my most
recently opened documents, and click OK twice. In Vista, check
or uncheck Store and display a list of recently opened files, and
click OK.
It's trickier to set the maximum number of items that the list can display.
The following works only for Administrator accounts, and you should do it
only after backing up the Registry. For instructions, go to my
Answer
Line tip "
Block
Spying Cookies, but Keep the Helpful Ones" and scroll down to the
sidebar "Back Up the Registry in Windows XP and Vista."
In XP, select Start, Run, type regedit, and press
Enter. Navigate the left pane to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
Select Edit, New, DWORD Value. Name the new value
MaxRecentDocs. Press once to save the name and again to edit the
value. For the Base, select Decimal. Enter the desired number, and
click OK. Close the Registry Editor, and reboot your PC for the
change to take effect.
In Vista, select Start, type regedit, and press
Enter. Navigate the left pane to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies.
If this folder doesn't already have an 'Explorer' subkey, select Edit,
New, Key; name the key Explorer; and press
Enter. With the Explorer key highlighted, select Edit, New,
DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value MaxRecentDocs.
Press once to save the name and again to edit the value. For the Base,
select Decimal. Enter the desired number, and click OK.
Close the Registry Editor, and reboot to implement the change.
Bonus tip: For a better look at your recent documents, try
Flexigensoft's free
ActualDoc. The program lets you filter the Recent Documents list by file
type or date, go to the folder that houses the document, and secure the
list. The Pro version (priced at 20 euros) includes file viewers, custom
categories, and search.
How do I identify third-party cookies?
Jon P. Lorbach, Blue Ash, Ohio
Internet Explorer doesn't provide a good way of identifying these third-party
cookies, but Mozilla Firefox does. If you're concerned about controlling
cookies, Firefox is the better choice, anyway.
In Firefox, select Tools, Options, Privacy, Show Cookies. Close the
Options dialog box, but keep the Cookies window open. Choose a cookie
to read its details, including the domain that owns it and when it expires.
To see what site is placing third-party cookies, clear your cookies, but keep
the Cookies dialog box open and visible as your surf. The cookies placed there
by the current page will appear at the bottom of the list.
What's up with recalcitrant CD rewrites, bulky browser add-ons, and
more
The question and answers continue with a look at the history of the
compact-disc format. Ohter topics include what you can do to dial up music
volume in Windows XP or Vista while keeping the OS's system sounds comfortably
pianissimo, how to uninstall or disable browser add-ons in Internet Explorer
and Firefox, and how to set up faxing in Windows XP and Vista.
Why are supposedly rewritable CD-RWs read-only?
Peter Segel, Fort Myers, Florida
The compact-disc format was designed originally as a read-only medium, and the
ability to erase and rewrite discs had to be added to the format after the
fact. That's why you need special software to write to CD-R and -RW discs, and
why--even with this software in place--CD-RWs behave like reformattable CD-Rs,
and not like editable storage devices along the lines of flash drives.
Packet-writing programs get around this limitation of the format by running in
the background and, in effect, fooling Windows into seeing an inserted CD-RW
as a hard drive. Ahead Software's $80
Nero 7 Ultra and Roxio's $70
Easy Media Creator 9 come with packet-writing programs, though Nero's InCD
isn't part of the default installation. Roxio calls its program Drag-to-Disc.
Flash drives may be a better choice than CD-RWs as erasable, portable media
because they don't have this problem.
How do I get loud music and soft Windows sounds?
Tom McGilligan, San Clemente, California
In Windows XP, there's not much you can do to customize your volume levels.
Make sure that the volume in your media player software is cranked up as high
as it can go. To turn off Windows sounds entirely, select Start,Run,
type mmsys.cpl, and press Enter. Click the
Sounds tab, choose the Sound scheme No Sounds (or
alternatively, save your existing scheme), and click OK.
Vista has a Volume Mixer that allows you to set different audio levels for
different programs that deliver sound (XP's Volume Control looks similar, but
it doesn't do the job). To reach Vista's tool, right-click the speaker icon in
your system tray and select Open Volume Mixer. If you don't see a
speaker icon, click Start, type sndvol, and press
Enter.
How do I identify third-party cookies?
Jon P. Lorbach, Blue Ash, Ohio
Internet Explorer doesn't provide a good way of identifying these third-party
cookies, but Mozilla Firefox does. If you're concerned about controlling
cookies, Firefox is the better choice, anyway.
In Firefox, select Tools, Options, Privacy, Show Cookies. Close the
Options dialog box, but keep the Cookies window open. Choose a cookie
to read its details, including the domain that owns it and when it expires.
To see what site is placing third-party cookies, clear your cookies, but keep
the Cookies dialog box open and visible as your surf. The cookies placed there
by the current page will appear at the bottom of the list.
What's up with recalcitrant CD rewrites, bulky browser add-ons, and
more
The question and answers continue with a look at the history of the
compact-disc format. Ohter topics include what you can do to dial up music
volume in Windows XP or Vista while keeping the OS's system sounds comfortably
pianissimo, how to uninstall or disable browser add-ons in Internet Explorer
and Firefox, and how to set up faxing in Windows XP and Vista.
Why are supposedly rewritable CD-RWs read-only?
Peter Segel, Fort Myers, Florida
The compact-disc format was designed originally as a read-only medium, and the
ability to erase and rewrite discs had to be added to the format after the
fact. That's why you need special software to write to CD-R and -RW discs, and
why--even with this software in place--CD-RWs behave like reformattable CD-Rs,
and not like editable storage devices along the lines of flash drives.
Packet-writing programs get around this limitation of the format by running in
the background and, in effect, fooling Windows into seeing an inserted CD-RW
as a hard drive. Ahead Software's $80
Nero 7 Ultra and Roxio's $70
Easy Media Creator 9 come with packet-writing programs, though Nero's InCD
isn't part of the default installation. Roxio calls its program Drag-to-Disc.
Flash drives may be a better choice than CD-RWs as erasable, portable media
because they don't have this problem.
How do I get loud music and soft Windows sounds?
Tom McGilligan, San Clemente, California
In Windows XP, there's not much you can do to customize your volume levels.
Make sure that the volume in your media player software is cranked up as high
as it can go. To turn off Windows sounds entirely, select Start,Run,
type mmsys.cpl, and press Enter. Click the
Sounds tab, choose the Sound scheme No Sounds (or
alternatively, save your existing scheme), and click OK.
Vista has a Volume Mixer that allows you to set different audio levels for
different programs that deliver sound (XP's Volume Control looks similar, but
it doesn't do the job). To reach Vista's tool, right-click the speaker icon in
your system tray and select Open Volume Mixer. If you don't see a
speaker icon, click Start, type sndvol, and press
Enter.
What's the best way to uninstall browser add-ons?
William E. Tarkington, Midwest City, Oklahoma
If you're using Internet Explorer, you probably can't. The best you can do
is disable them. To do so in IE6, select Tools, Manage Add-ons [Tools,
Manage Add-ons, Enable or Disable Add-ons in IE7]. Select the
undesired add-on, choose the Disable radio button, and click OK.
Internet Explorer 7 allows you to remove ActiveX controls--provided that
they're ones you've downloaded and installed (as opposed to those that came
with the browser). To remove them, select Tools, Manage Add-ons, Enable or
Disable Add-ons. In the Show pulldown menu, select Downloaded ActiveX
Controls (32-bit). Select the unwanted control, and click
Delete.
You may have other options at your disposal for deleting these programs. Check
Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet (Programs and Features in Vista);
An uninstaller for the add-on may be there. And if the program has a
reputation as malware, you may be able to remove it by using a security
program such as LavaSoft's AdAware.
On the other hand, if you're using Mozilla Firefox, all you have to do
uninstall an unwanted browser add-on is select Tools, Add-ons, choose
the unwanted item, and click Uninstall.
How do I send a fax from Windows?
Fred Weil, Toms River, New Jersey
Both XP and Vista come with perfectly serviceable fax programs. Of course, to
use them, you'll need a dial-up analog modem plugged into your telephone line.
To set up faxing in XP, open Control Panel's Printers and Faxes
applet. In the left pane, click Set up faxing (the option may be
identified as 'Install a local fax printer'). The fax configuration wizard is
self-explanatory. When it's done, you'll see the Fax icon among your various
printer options.
From now on, you can fax anything that you can print. Just select Fax
from the list of available printers. Vista Business and Vista Ultimate come
with a program called 'Windows Fax and Scan' that makes faxing extremely easy.
