Killing parasites
When I connect to the web, I get a Dutch page called 24WEB for a home page. I cannot get rid of this despite selecting something else or a blank page in Internet Explorer. Stuart Milligan

My homepage has been set for a site called Internet Opimtizer and I cannot re-set it to my default home page.
Paul Charter

123.com has taken over my home page, and if I try to remove it, it returns.
David Backrack

Jack Schofield replies: Home-page hijacking is now a significant problem with Internet Explorer for Windows, and queries like this come in almost every day. However, there are several programs that can remove most parasites, including hijackers. I suggest trying Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft's Ad-aware, and HijackThis. You can find links to all three plus a discussion of the problem at www.spywareinfo.com/articles/hijacked.

If you know the name of your hijacker, go to Andrew Clover's Doxdesk. This has a detection script and a list of the most common parasites, with removal instructions. For example, see www.doxdesk.com/parasite/InternetOptimizer.html

The SpywareGuide and ParasiteWare sites also have lots of useful information, and SpywareGuide offers an online scan at www.spywareguide.com/txt_onlinescan.html.

As well as removing existing parasites, you should try to stop them from being installed. Spybot S&D has a "bad download blocker" for Internet Explorer, plus an immunize feature. For extra protection, I recommend Javacool Software's SpywareBlaster. This can block more than 500 known parasites and also lets you take a "system snapshot", so you can see if anything has changed. (It can also block Macromedia Flash, which is useful, though technically Flash is not a parasite.)

All these programs can be run, say, once a week, depending on your surfing habits. For those who need real-time checking, Javacool offers SpywareGuard . This also blocks home-page hijackers.

All the programs mentioned above are available free, though donations are solicited. There are also some commercial programs, such as PestPatrol and Aluria's Spyware Eliminator. PestPatrol also offers a free scan at www.pestscan.com, though this does not include pest removal. However, on my system, Pestscan fingers things I want to keep, such as ReGet and DAP (Downloader Accelerator Plus).

Finally, use Windows Update to make sure you are up to date with Microsoft's security patches. The last cumulative fix for IE was published on June 4 www.microsoft.com. Note: you need this patch even if you never use Internet Explorer.

No Lotto
According to a spam email, I have won $5.5m in the Humana Lotto Promotion, Amstersdam. I imagine this is a variation on the 419 Nigerian scam but haven't been able to confirm this. Martin Hughes

JS: This is another very common con trick, sometimes known as the "Dutch Lottery" scam. Try to claim the prize and you will be asked for about $1,500 to $3,000 in advance "to cover transfer charges, insurance of vital documents like prize claims certificate, receipt of transfer of your funds to your account via courier service handling and opening of account charges". You will not get the prize money and you will not get your fee back. See www.stopecg.org/lottery.htm and www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Nigerian/lotteries.htm.

Stopping spam
To cut down the amount of spam I receive, I set up mail rules in Outlook Express, but it looks as though they are having no effect at all. Peter White

JS: Writing good rules is hard work, and not really necessary. It is simpler to run a free spam blocker such as Mailwasher. Subscribe to the blacklists under Tools|Options and Mailwasher will be able to delete most spam on the server before you download it. An alternative or second line of defence is to use a Bayesian (statistical) spam filter. I recommend the Installer EXE version of Robin Keir's K9, which can filter spam for most standard (POP3) mail programs. More advanced users can also set it up to check mail on the server. It has no obvious connection with Dr Who.

Backchat

· Several readers suggested Wacom tablets as ergonomic mouse-substitutes. Judith Christie reports: "I bought a Trust Wireless Design and Work Tablet 200 for a colleague with RSI. The pen performs all the functions of a mouse by pressing the nib on to the tablet and by using the configurable buttons on the side. A small cordless mouse is also included in this package."