The first weekend show for the year was an open line for those who didn't read the manuals. We also mentioned the Adobe scripting bug and Windows Vista. Our callers really didn't need much help with manuals after all.

Email Viruses
Robin called in about receiving emails from his son overseas that his anti virus program keeps deleting. It sounds like his son's flash drive or laptop has been infected at an Internet Cafe or guest house's computer. This happens a lot to travellers.

It is possible to do this by turning off the email scanning feature in the anti virus package. We do not recommend this as you do not want a virus like blackmal getting through your first defenses. It's safe to assume there is nothing in the attachment worth reading.

For travellers using computer equipment while on the road, it's important to protect yourself against catching viruses from other people's networks. We've heard of infections from five-star hotels and top cruise ships as much as backpackers Internet cafes. Laptops should have firewalls on at all time while flash drives should be set to read-only.

Unable to update AVG
To avoid Robin's problem, automatic updating of your antivirus program is essential. Melanie called in about her being unable to update her AVG antivirus. We find the AVG Free servers tend to get clogged, which is a reason for paying for the full version.

If you are having problems updating, it's best to keep tying. If the computer insists that it cannot contact the server, it may be a firewall problem. Unless you know the details of the firewall, it's easier to uninstall and reinstall AVG. We have covered how to do install an anti-virus previously.

Securing a wireless network
cheryl was unable to get to air, but wanted to know about securing her wireless router. Unsecured wireless networks are a major concern to Internet users, even if you aren't worried about the security of your own system, a wireless network can be used for sending spam, viruses or phishing emails. This is such a serious problem, we have a specific page on how to secure your network.

Upcoming shows
Like Cheryl, we had plenty of other callers who were unable to get on. The next Weekend show is scheduled for March 4. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us or subscribe to our newsletter.