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Free Net access
q+a Whenever I try to send an email message through BSNL’s account-free Internet access system using Outlook Express, the program asks for the server name. How can I find out the names of the POP3 and SMTP servers?
P. K. Bhattacharjee, Jaydeep Banerjee
You cannot use BSNL’s account free Internet service to send or receive email. For email messages, you must be allotted a mailbox by an Internet service provider. BSNL provides a simple way to access the Internet using your own telephone number as the username and any four characters as a password by dialling 172222. This is basically a way to connect to the Internet without taking an account from a service provider.
You are charged 10 paise a minute as the Internet charge. In addition, you have to pay call charges of Rs 9.60 an hour during the peak hours of 7.30 am to 10.30 pm. Off peak hours (between 10.30 pm and 7.30 am), you are charged Rs 4.80 an hour. Though BSNL does not provide you with a mail box for accessing the Internet in this way, you can still use Outlook Express if you have a Yahoo or Gmail account.
The POP3 server for incoming mail in Gmail is pop.gmail.com, and for outgoing mail (SMTP), it is smtp.gmail.com. Just go to Tools ?Accounts in Outlook Express and follow the wizard to set up a new connection. For Yahoo, the POP3 server is pop3.mail.yahoo.co.in and for the outgoing mail server, it is smtp.mail.yahoo.co.in.
Desktop icons
q+a My Windows XP desktop icons have turned blue. How do I get rid of this problem?
Snehashis Chaki
To restore your original settings, just right click on an empty area of your desktop. From the contextual menu, select Properties. Click on the Themes tab and select Windows XP or Windows Classic as your new theme. You will find everything fine once again.
Virus attack
q+a I am using the Windows 2000 Server in my computer. I find two files, folder.htt and desktop.ini, created in every folder I visit. These files are taking up unnecessary space and the performance of my PC has deteriorated. How can I get rid of this problem without formatting the hard disk or reinstalling the operating system?
Arup Kachari
You have been infected with the Redlof.B virus that usually appends itself to html files. Get yourself an anti-virus software like AVG or Avast. Do a complete scan after you have updated the anti-virus software with the latest definition files. AVG can be got from free.grisoft.com and Avast from www.avast.com.
Anti-virus options
q+a My computer is infected with several Trojans and viruses. I have updated Norton anti-virus, but it fails remove these viruses. Also, I cannot open msconfig to stop programs I do not need to run.
Sandip Kund
Your Norton anti-virus has probably gone past its evaluation period. If you do not buy Norton, you will not be able to remove any viruses. That is why I always recommend that you get an anti-virus software that is free for home use. Do not use a pirated copy of Norton. It will not work properly. In addition to AVG and Avast, there are several other options for you. You could go to www.clamwin.com and get a free copy of ClamWin Free Antivirus version 0.88.2.3. It is an open source software and will work with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and Windows Server 2003. Another option for you is to get AntiVir Personal Classic Edition version 7 from www.free-av.com. It will work on Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP. There is also a version for Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris.
Booting trouble
q+a My Windows XP keeps on restarting during the boot sequence. It never opens up fully. What should I do?
Rik Paul
Have you tried starting your computer in safe mode? To get to safe mode, press F8 after switching on your PC. Once it starts on safe mode, it should fix itself. However, if this does not solve the problem, you probably have a bad boot sector. You need to boot your PC from the Windows XP CD. After this, you will get a “Welcome to Setup” screen. Select “To repair a windows XPinstallation using Recovery Console, press R”. Here you will be able to fix your problem. If this proves too much for you to handle, I suggest you ask your vendor to do it for you.
Blue screen of death
q+a I get an alert frequently saying that the computer has to restart to prevent a serious damage. It then says “beginning to dump physical memory to disk”. It then restarts. Please help.
Madhuri Singh, Prakash Naman
There are some very good free Windows recovery tools at www.datapol-technologies.com/dpe/recovery/index.html. Here try out CIA Commander. This will most probably solve your problems of the “blue screen of death”.
Password protection
q+a In my company I have to share my computer with several people. Is there a way to protect my folders and files with a password?
Ranadev Singha
The best way to do this is to set up separate usernames for different users of the PC, assuming that you are using Windows XP.
To do this, you need administrative access to your computer. Open User Accounts in the Control Panel and set up new users. Under Advanced make sure you put a checkmark against “Require users to pres Control+Alt+Delete” to ensure secure log in.
Next you can right click on the folders you do not want shared. Under Sharing and Security, you will find several options on how to control users from seeing data.
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