ShareThisI thought I would take some time out from playing "Mafia Wars" on Facebook to answer a few reader questions (and feel free to join my Mafia!).
Q. My anti-virus program said a program you recommended to clean my computer (ATF-Cleaner) is really a virus or a Trojan. What's the deal with that?
A. It's a false positive. It happens. If you're worried you can quarantine the file until a newer version of the virus definitions come out and the error is corrected. That's probably the safe thing to do in case the file has ever become infected with a virus. You can always reinstall the application later.
Q. After I connected my Windows smartphone to my PC I started to get bills for ring tones that I never ordered. Could a virus have jumped from my PC to my phone?
A. It is highly unlikely. What is more likely is someone downloaded or texted a "free" ring tone or download that really carried a monthly fee. Many of these services bury the real fees in the small print. If you look on the bill you can often figure out a way to text something back to the company to stop the service if you Google the company name.
Q. Do I need anti-virus for my Windows Mobile cell phone?
A. Not yet but stay tuned.
Q. I downloaded the beta for Windows 7 but it came as an "ISO" file. I don't know what to do with that file since it won't run or install.
A. An ISO file is a disc image. You need to use DVD burning software (and have a DVD burner) to open the ISO file and then burn the image to a blank DVD-R disc. Then you can use that disc to install the software. If you don't have a DVD burner you may want to put the file on an external drive or a large thumb drive and have a friend burn it for you.
Q. Will an external hard drive work on any brand of PC?
A. Yes, assuming you have the right plug. Most external drives now come with USB 2.0 and some also come with Fireware. The latter is more common with Apples but also is found on some PCs. If your PC only has the original USB (not version 2.0) you may consider adding a USB card to your PC to take advantage of USB 2.0, which can be about 40 times faster than the original USB in terms of transferring files. That is the key metric in an external hard drive...how fast the data can go from the drive back to the PC. The internal 2.0 card is about $25 and very easy to install so I would recommend it as a simple upgrade. With the falling prices of external drives (a terabyte for $125, can you believe it?) they are great for making backups.
Q. You recommended a registry cleaner in your column that finds issues but won't fix the issues unless you pay $29. How come you said it was free?
A. I never have recommended a registry cleaner. One I would get if you have Windows XP is Windows Defender, which is free from the Microsoft Web site. If you have Vista, it is built-in by default.
James Derk is tech columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim(at)cyberdads.com
COMPUTER CENTRAL
