There are two problems with my computer. First, occasionally when inserting a disc into the CD/DVD drive a message appears saying “E drive is inaccessible”. Second, after a while on the internet a message appears for the wireless adapter saying “Limited or no connectivity” even though the signal strength is strong. The problem only seems to occur when no one is actively using the internet for a period of time and can be fixed by restarting the computer. The computer is running Windows XP and has a Netgear WPN111 wireless adapter. (more…)

Balloon messages are appearing from the system tray claiming that the computer is infected with the “XP Security Center” virus. The message instructs me to click on the balloon to fix the problem. A web page appeared recommending that I buy the cure. On inspection of the payment form I saw that payment was in roubles, the company was Russian, and there were spelling mistakes in the instructions. Needless to say, I backed off instantly and did not purchase the item. The constant balloon message interruptions continued, so I purchased Spyware Doctor in an attempt to fix the problem. This cleaned up my system and removed the malware, including the Trojan Spy.Zbot. However, the system slowed almost to a halt, such that it was virtually unusable. I discovered this slowness was only when the so-called Spyware Doctor “intelliguard protection” was running. Upon disabling this feature the system immediately returned to normal speed. Is there any way to avoid this slowdown? The computer is also running McAfee VirusScan. (more…)

If you regularly deal with people in different time zones it could be useful to have an easy method to check the time in those different time zones. In Windows Vista you can add up to two additional clocks into the system tray for different time zones. Click on the Windows Vista clock and then select “Change date and time settings”. In the Date and Time window that appears click the “Additional Clocks” tab. Tick the checkboxes for the clock(s) that you wish to appear and then set the time zone and display name. Now when you click the clock in the system tray the window that appears will display multiple clocks, each representing different time zones.

Updating AVG Antivirus produced the error message: “A .bin file is missing”. Now it seems that my computer is not protected. How can I fix this problem so that AVG updates correctly? The computer is running Windows XP. (more…)

In a previous column you made reference to a utility called Backup in Windows XP. However, I cannot find this utility on my computer. Instead, the only programs available in the “System Tools” program group are Character Map, Disk cleanup, Scheduled Tasks, Security Center and System Restore. Can you help me find Backup? The computer is running Windows XP. (more…)