InBox

By DON McALLISTER

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

Q. Is Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Hotfix SP2) automatically installed? Steve is using XP Professional, which is configured to receive the updates from Microsoft automatically. "Do I need to install SP2 or would my system have upgraded automatically?" he asks.

A. It should have installed automatically, Steve, but the easiest way to confirm is to run windows update: Start/All Programs/Windows Update. If SP2 hasn't been installed, it will be listed in available updates.

Another place to check is in Control Panel/Add Remove Programs, where all installed updates and patches are listed. SP2 constitutes four separate components at the bottom of that list. All have Hotfix (SP2) in their name.

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Q. "My CD Writer has died; is it repairable? It's an HP 9100 model and if connected, refuses to let my machine start. What could be causing this?" asks Darren.

A. It is likely to be old age, Darren. That is a four-year-old model and quite frankly not worth repairing considering the price of CD writers or even DVD writers.

A quick search of QMB, Paradigm PCs and Dick Smith produces some unbelievably low replacement prices! A CD-RW drive from $55 or update to a combo DVD reader/CD-RW for $87, then best of all (if the budget allows) are the massive storage capacity DVD writers which are now available from about $160 up! DVD writers are normally also CD-RW capable, giving you the best of both worlds.

The trick is to shop around; some retailers have advantages of locality, some have an edge in price and others very sharp delivery costs.

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Q. "Telecom is phasing out Jetstart from September," writes Jacob. "All current users service will cease at the end of the year. Is this a ploy to enhance their broadband uptake figures?"

A. Yes, Jacob, the Government has suggested Telecom should increase broadband cover, the 128kbps options (being below the agreed broadband threshold) are impeding this. Essentially a small increase in price will take place for entry level users moving to 256kbps. Doubling speed but not price is good, if in the long term, the price stays low.

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Q. "For years I have never received any Spam messages, BUT! Just this last week every time I open up to receive emails they come in at around four each time. Can I do anything about this?" asks Judy.

A. The mind boggles how our addresses get into their lists at times, Judy. They glean them from subscriptions to newsletters, postings on news or discussion groups, trial and error sending to miscellaneous addresses to see if any don't bounce, "recommend us to a friend" links. The list goes on and your "active" address is worth money!

For my monstrous spam load I use a Kiwi creation called "Mailwasher" (free 30-day demo) which leaves me in full control yet stops these unwanted emails from downloading from the source. Having to retrain mail handling habits is annoying, but it's effective.

There are also many free solutions with good results at: www.spamliquidator.com/directory/free-spam.html.

But as spammers find different ways round hurdles, most programs are not that silver bullet you require. In your case a software solution may be more trouble than deleting them as they arrive.


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