Announcements

Virus Hoax

The "delete the Sulfnbk.exe" virus hoax is going around again. If you receive an e-mail telling you to delete this file - tell whoever it was that sent it that it's a hoax. - And DON'T delete the file.

The Sulfnbk.exe file is a windows system file. It's actually not a real critical file, chances are if you deleted it you'll suffer no ill effects. The file is used to restore long file names, and is seldom - if ever - used.

Still, don't delete the thing should you get an e-mail telling you to do so. Remember, just because you get a message in your e-mail, it isn't automatically true. Check things like this out first!

Oh, here's a link with more info:

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/sulfnbk.exe.warning.html

We have lots of posts on the message board about it too. Search for "sulfnbk":

http://www.worldstart.com/ctmb.htm

Backup To Floppy Update

I think there was a little confusion on Wednesday's Computers 101 tip. I said that it's not a real good idea to save important stuff to floppies and then delete the files from your hard drive (I had a ton of people tell me horror stories about 3.5 floppy data losses too).

Anyhow, I had a number of people ask about CD-Rs for backups. Yes, I think they are great for doing backups. I didn't mention them since the article wasn't really about backups - it was about not copying files to floppies than deleting them from your hard drive.

What if you want to remove files from your hard drive and put them on a CD-R (or RW) though?

Well it's better than using a floppy (or even a zip disk) for the job, but I'd still be cautious. My advice is that if you really want to do it, make sure you have a couple copies of that CD. All it takes is one good scratch to render your data useless.

Newsletter Schedule

We won't be sending newsletters out Mon, Tues, or Wed next week. We be back Thurs & Fri.

Have a great Christmas!

Computers 101

Q:
What is an e-mail attachment?

A:
An e-mail attachment is a file you include with an e-mail. For example, let's say you have a text document or picture you want to share with someone. You can "attach" this document to an e-mail and send it off to them.

How do you attach it? Usually via a little paper clip icon in your e-mail software. Just click it and you should get a dialog box that lets you navigate to, and attach, the file of your choice. And no, it doesn't take the file off your computer, it only sends a copy of it.

A word of caution though. Keep an eye on the size of the file you're sending. Your recipient may not appreciate downloading a 3 meg file.

Tip of the Day

EZ E-mail Attachments

Web Link - http://www.worldstart.com/tips/ezemailattach.htm

Do you wish there was an easier way to place attachments in your e-mail messages? I mean, every time you go to put an attachment in, you have to wade through a slew of menus and files just to get the thing attached.

Well, with both MS Outlook Express & Netscape Mail, there is an easier way. (You knew it, didn't you?)

With MS Outlook & Netscape Mail, you can drag & drop files from Windows Explorer to the message you want them attached to. Here's how:

First, open Windows Explorer or My Computer and navigate to the file you want to send (note that you won't want the window maximized). Next open your e-mail program and start a new message.

Then:

Outlook / Outlook Express:

This one is easy. Just drag the file to the body of the message and let go. You're all attached.

Netscape:

This one isn't too bad either. Drag the file to the address area of the e-mail (not the body). Let go and it's all attached for ya. For Netscape 6, you need to drag & drop to the Attachment area on the new message screen.

If you're using a different e-mail program, it *may* support this as well. You'll have to experiment to find out.

Final Trick -

If you would rather not do the drag and drop thing, you could always right-click the file you want to send and select Send To, E-mail recipient. Of course, this works better if you haven't already started the e-mail.

Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

Went searching for the cool site and came upon an interesting submission by Brynne. Bringing to light the Marshmallow Bunny Survival Tests…

Marshmallow Bunny Survival Tests

The Bunnies have been sold out, but by who? Who paid these researchers to make test subjects of these poor marshmallow bunnies? What tests are they performing? How could the control bunnies allow this to happen. Find out all the answers…go on, you know you want to. Check it out.

http://www.pcola.gulf.net/~irving/bunnies/index2.html

Do you have a cool site that you want to share? Send it to Amanda! Here's her address:

amanda@worldstart.com

Oh, and we're looking for non-commercial sites. We generally don't run sites that are strictly for shopping.