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Q: Whenever I use Windows 98 to open a picture file I get an error message that it has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. Details: MSPAINT caused an invalid page fault in module MFC42.DLL at 0167:6C37F9EB. How do you rectify this?
A: The program needs to be re-installed. In Windows 98, Paint is called MSPaint.exe and is in C:\Program Files\Accessories. To fix it, click on Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add/Remove programs, click the Windows Setup tab, Accessories and remove the tick from Paint. Restart the computer, repeat and replace the tick. For displaying images, you could change the default program and use the free excellent program IrfanView. There are other similar freeware programs including Gimp from gimp.org and freewarehome.com as well as Picasa from Google.
Q: I've used SpyBot, Ad-Aware and Mailwasher but I've still got DSO Exploit spyware. I had read there was to be an update in Windows IE, but it's still there.
A: Usually, these programs can eliminate most spyware but in your case DSO Exploit uses a vulnerability in Internet Explorer. If you have the latest Internet Explorer version and all your Windows Updates, you can ignore the DSO Exploit as a potential problem when spyware removal programs discover it. Remove this manually by following instructions at pchell.com/support/dsoexploit.shtml. Upgrade your version of Internet Explorer and install Windows Updates by visiting microsoft.com/windows.
Q: I received a virus alert report from Norton Antivirus. I ran a scan and nothing appears to have been affected. Most of the infected emails were deleted, some were quarantined and one was labelled "repair failed". Should I worry? Is the email in a temporary internet file?
A: Most viruses cannot be repaired. This is because the infected file has been badly corrupted or there is no underlying file and it comprises only the virus and cannot be repaired. This is true for most viruses but you still get the same error message. The screen dump you sent me shows that the email has been removed and put in C:\Documents and Settings\Pitts\Local Settings\ Temp\CCC05.tmp. Just delete the CCC05.tmp file.