User beware
Is it technically possible to contract a virus by visiting a web page - if I don't download any file or open any attachment, and just open the page in my browser? Keith Hazelton
Peterborough, UK

Jack Schofield replies: At the moment, I don't think you are likely to get a virus this way, assuming you have fixed any browser insecurities, such as the scriptlet bug. This hole allowed malicious scripts to run from within HTML pages, so you could get an infection without opening an email. Could an ingenious hacker do something like this from a web page? Perhaps. However, you can certainly catch a "JavaScript virus", such as JS.Excpetion.gen, which modifies your browser's home page, and redirects links to pornographic pages. A reader was recently caught by a similar routine, which changed his home page to Yahoo.

This malware placed a file called data789.tmp in the Windows folder. The file inserted data into the registry every time the PC was restarted. He had to disable the file (by renaming it), remove the instruction to load the file (using msconfig), and remove its Search Assistant entries from the registry. There is a free program, Start Page Guard, intended to prevent this type of browser snatching. You can also, of course, increase your browser's security settings. Go to Tools| Internet Options, click the Security tab, and move the slider from Medium to High. Unfortunately, browsing with a high security setting is so tedious that few people can stand it for long. And while you can put the addresses of any sites you don't trust into the Restricted sites zone, by that time, it is usually too late.
/www.pjwalczak.com/spguard

Trojan scans
Do anti-virus programs scan only for viruses, and do you need an anti-Trojan program as well? Your reply last week left me confused... Mike Neve

JS: My apologies: I thought I had saved space by providing a link to www.hackfix.org, which tells you how good anti-virus scanners are at detecting Trojans. (Trojans are security-breaking programs that have been smuggled on to your PC without you knowing, perhaps disguised as something else. They can allow a hacker to take over your machine.) It seems that most popular AV software will detect most or all common Trojans. However, it could be worth running a Trojan scanner if your AV software is not good at it, or you have some reason to think you may be hosting a Trojan. You can also have your PC scanned online at the sites listed below.

Listening
Following your answer on Trojans, I typed netstat -a at the DOS prompt, and it said TCP and UDP k0a4u6:1083 state LISTENING. This points to a file in C:\ Windows\Internet Logs\ K0A4U6.ldb. Any idea what it does? Martin Saunders

JS: I don't know. However, port 1083 is one of the ports used by a well-known Trojan, WinHole or WinGate, so check to see if any of these details apply to your PC. If you find an unknown program listening, check the port it is using on one or more of the sites that list the ports used by Trojans, then search your PC for evidence of that Trojan. BlackCode has a huge list. Pest Patrol has a short list.

Send here
Can I add a destination to the drop down Send To menu, eg a New Folder in My Documents? Derek Burls
Somerset

JS: Right-clicking on a file in Windows Explorer usually lets you send it to a variety of places, including a floppy drive or the Windows Briefcase. Suppose you want to send things to a folder called My Work. Find the My Work folder in the right hand pane in Windows Explorer, right-click it, and select Create Shortcut. You will now have a file called Shortcut to My Work. Use the mouse to move this shortcut into the Send To folder at C:\Windows\ SendTo. Highlight it again, press F2, and shorten the name to My Work. This name will appear in the SendTo options when you next right-click a file.

Backchat
· Following on from the responses about refilling printer cartridges (March 7), Ashley Cooper from Harrogate says that after many unsuccessful attempts at filling his own, and testing the refilled ones sold on the high street, he has found "the ideal solution": Cartridge World's refilling service. "They specialise in refilling empty ink jet and laser printer cartridges and fill all the cartridges with the correct inks and not universal ones. They test the cartridges on site before they release them, and offer a full money-back guarantee that they will work as well as the originals." It is a franchise operation.