Ask Rick: spam filters, computer security, filming film, finding answers, and email signatures

By Rick Maybury 800AM GMT thirteen March 2010

It"s not a great thought to put a jpeg of your signature on your email

Filter problems Recently you endorsed that a reader implement a spam filter on their computer, but these things appear to be as most a abuse as an assist most of the emails I send to friends and family finish up in their spam folder. Is there any approach of ensuring bona fide messages get through? Phil Gibson, by email

Most spam filters do a pretty great job, however they are not undiluted and a little of them can be utterly aggressive. Providing theres zero patently questionable in your emails and you equivocate utilizing keywords similar to Viagra, Rolex, diplomas, "enlargement" and so on, they should get through. Problems can movement when the recipients filter has been configured to automatically undo messages flagged up as spam. Typically this choice is infirm and over time the filter learns whats great and bad as the user spots errors and manually identifies spam emails that have slipped by the net and adds them to a whitelist of authorized contacts. Unfortunately theres no easy answer. Every filter is opposite and all you can do is advise the influenced recipients that you are carrying trouble, though obviously in sequence to do so you will have to review to some-more out-of-date means, similar to snail mail or write …

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Personal insurance I have usually upgraded to Windows 7. Are AVG and Zone Alarms still the most appropriate ways to strengthen my computer for free? David Taylor, by email

Both AVG and Zone Alarm go on to do a excellent pursuit underneath Windows 7 but there are alternative free antivirus and firewall programs worth considering. The ultimate recover of Avast! (v5) is faster and lighter on the feet than the prototype and has a new underline called a Behavioural Shield that monitors programs and emails for questionable wake up not lonesome by the continually updated signature files. You competence additionally similar to to cruise Microsoft Security Essentials, that has not long ago accomplished a extensive beta trial. Its early days but so far it is you do a really great pursuit indeed, on condition that a high turn of insurance but hogging resources or interfering with alternative programs. You can find links to those programs here. The firewall enclosed with Windows 7 functions well but if you wish to ring in the changes, try Comodo, Keiro or Outpost, that again are all free, and can be found here.

Home videos I have most spools of 8mm cine movie that I would similar to to duplicate onto my tough expostulate before to modifying on my Personal Computer and afterwards blazing onto DVD. My attempts to constraint projected cine movie from a shade with a complicated digital camcorder have been catastrophic due to the disproportion in support speeds. I would conclude your recommendation on a DIY resolution to my complaint the cost of blurb estimate is as well high when deliberation the volume of footage involved. Rick Ahern, by email

The usually in effect approach to overcome the disproportion in support rate in between cine and video constraint is to make make use of of a projector with non-static speed control. You might additionally find that utilizing a cine/slide send shade or box (basically a belligerent potion shade and a mirror), will give improved formula than sharpened the screen, but in the finish the usually approach to do it scrupulously is to make make use of of veteran telecine equipment. If you emporium around try the personal ads in the backs of print and camera magazines there are a little utterly in accord with deals on offer.

Find engines Is it probable to do a poke similar to Find on this page, that looks not usually at the stream web page but additionally at all pages it links to? For e.g. can I poke for the word sundial on all the churches related from www.norfolkchurches.co.uk? John Foad, by email

It positively is, and to poke an complete site all you have to do is prefix the website name with the keyword and a elementary command. So, for example, to poke for sundial on the Norfolk churches site you come in the following in the Google Search box "sundial sitenorfolkchurches.co.uk" (without the quotes) and press Enter. If you dont mind switching to Firefox, the even simpler utilizing an appendage called URLbarExt, that has a Site Search option, and most alternative utilitarian features.

Final Word I infrequently send Word papers by email and spasmodic need to embody a signature. I"m disturbed this presents a risk of temperament burglary or worse if the target does not keep the record protected and a hacker extracts the embedded signature file. Is there a approach of safeguarding the signature record or should I emanate a new signature for this purpose? Richard Ball, by email

Your signature is already out there in the open domain, on letters, cheques, credit label slips and the large central and unaccepted papers that we all sign, all of the time. By all equates to emanate a feign signature for emails and Word papers but I think that the worth to a fraudster or hacker who happened on it would be really limited. There are most most some-more profitable equipment of personal identity, such as PINs and passwords, that you should be endangered about protecting.