Microsoft have announced that there are certain amendments/changes which will resolve the latest virus and Trojan threats, but which in turn have affected some antivirus products, so it is important that you update everything!

Because these updates can take many hours, we offer a service to Non-broadband users to update your Windows, Antivirus and scanning products for just £30 plus VAT.

Folder Lock

Do you have disks, folders or files you would like to "lock-up" from prying eyes?

This is a fast file-security software programme that can password-protect, lock, hide and encrypt any number of files, folders, drives, pictures and documents in seconds. Protected files are hidden, undeletable, inaccessible and highly secure, it hides files from kids, friends and co-workers, and safeguards them from viruses, trojans, worms and spyware, even protects them from networked PCs or cable users and hackers. Files can also be protected on USB Flash Drives, Memory Sticks, CD-RW, floppies and notebooks. Protection works even if files are taken from one PC to another on a removable disk, without the need to install any software. Costing £29 plus VAT. For further information contact us.

Domain owners BEWARE (the www.name bit)

There are a lot of scams around at the moment so please be very careful if you receive a Renewal notice or "Domain Name Expiration Notice". Please check very carefully the spelling of your particular domain name as quite often it may be miss spelt or a .com instead of .co.uk or in fact be correctly spelt but that they are just trying to get you to transfer to their own company, for an exorbitant price.

How to build formulae in Excel Spreadsheets

All spreadsheet formulae start with an equals sign (or an @ symbol if using Lotus). You use the same arithmetic symbols in your formulae as you would on a calculator, except that multiplication is represented by an asterisk '*' and division is represented by a forward slash '/'. In order to multiply the numbers in cells A1 and A2, for example, you would write =A1*A2. Place this formula in cell A3, and the answer will appear in that cell. Another example could be, say you wanted to multiply A1 and A2 and then add 5 to the result to get the final answer, you would write =(A1*A2)+5.

How to use SEARCH

The Find feature in Windows was revamped for XP and renamed Search. As with previous versions, you'll find it by clicking on the Start Menu. However, if you are in a rush and the desktop is active, just press the F3 key. The appearance of Search will differ according to the type of Start Menu you have. If it is set to Classic Start Menu (to change this, right-click on the Start button and select Properties), select For Files or Folders from the sub-menu. This opens the same dialogue box that standard XP Start Menu users will see when they click on Search. We want to find a file, but we don't remember its filename. All we can recall is some of the text inside the file. Click on the All Files and Folders link. In the next screen, enter the text in the second box, headed 'A word or phrase in the file'. If you want to search your entire hard disk, make sure it is selected in the Look In box.

How to customise your Taskbar

If you have a large display, there's no need to restrict yourself to just a single 'row' Taskbar. You can display two or three rows of programme icons. This also gives you more room in the QuickLaunch area and allows the date to be displayed in the system clock. This is based on using XP but the process is similar in previous versions of Windows.

If your Start menu is on a classic view, go to Settings, Taskbar, Start Menu. Alternatively, open the Control Panel and select that option from there. Untick the Lock Toolbar option. If you find it annoying when Windows groups multiple windows or files on one icon, you can switch this off by unticking Group Similar Taskbar buttons. Click OK. Hover the cursor over the edge of the Taskbar. When it turns into a double-headed arrow, click and drag the Taskbar to its required height. The clock will automatically show the day and date. To change formatting of the date and time, go back to the Control Panel and open Regional and Language settings. In XP, go to Regional Options and click Customize.

Undo Wrong Doings

The Undo button on the Microsoft Word toolbar can get you out of nasty situations. If you accidentally delete some text, paste in an unwanted element from the clipboard or generally mess things up, that handy button will undo your last action. There's more to it than meets the eye, though, as you can undo more than the last action. Click on the down-pointing arrow next to the Undo button to see a list of your most recent actions - click to undo any action on the list, together with the actions listed above it. If you can't see the one you want, try scrolling down the list.