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Q&A

I've heard about the Microsoft Word Concept virus. What versions of Microsoft Word are vulnerable, and how do I tell if my version of Word or my documents are infected?

The Microsoft Word Concept virus can affect Microsoft Word version 6.0.x and 7.0 on any platform: Windows, Windows 95, NT, and the Macintosh. If you take an infected document from a Macintosh running Word 6.0.x and use it on a computer running Word 6.0 for Windows, you can infect that version of Word and its documents as well.

There are several ways to tell if the virus is present.

• Word only allows you to save documents as a templates.
• When you open a document, a dialog box showing the number 1 appears.
• New macros, named AAAZAO, AAAZFS, and PayLoad, appear in the list of macros. If you had AutoOpen and FileSaveAs macros, their content is changed. If you did not have AutoOpen or FileSaveAs macros, they appear.

To remove the virus from Word and from your documents, get a copy of the Microsoft Application note "Macro Virus Protection Tool" from the Computing Resource Center, or from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com.

- Caroline Ferguson, CRC

Yes. Hold down the Option key when clicking the "name" selection in the Find File dialog box. This lets you select "contents" as the search choice for finding a phrase in a file. Be aware that full-text searching takes some time, but the search can be run in the background.

This undocumented feature also enables other interesting search criteria - for example, searching for files with locked icons, searching for files with custom icons, or even searching for invisible files.

- Don Montabana, CRC

Here's an easy game to play.
Here's an easy thing to say: 

If a packet hits a pocket 
     on a socket on a port, 
And the bus is interrupted 
     as a very last resort, 
And the address of the memory 
     makes your floppy disk abort,
Then the socket packet pocket 
     has an error to report!

If your cursor finds a menu item 
     followed by a dash,
And the double-clicking icon puts your 
     window in the trash,
And your data is corrupted 'cause the 
     index doesn't hash,
Then your situation's hopeless, and your 
     system's gonna crash!

You can't say this?  What a shame sir!
We'll find you another game sir.

If the label on the cable on the table 
     at your house,
Says the network is connected to 
     the button on your mouse,
But your packets want to tunnel 
     on another protocol,
That's repeatedly rejected 
     by the printer down the hall,

And your screen is all distorted 
     by the side effects of gauss
So your icons in the window are 
     as wavy as a souse,
Then you may as well reboot and 
     go out with a bang,
'Cause as sure as I'm a poet, 
     the sucker's gonna hang!

When the copy of your floppy's 
     getting sloppy on the disk,
And the microcode instructions cause 
     unnecessary risc,
Then you have to flash your memory and      
     you'll want to RAM your ROM.
Quickly turn off the computer and 
     be sure to tell your mom!

 - Anonymous