It's happened again. Another Windows computer virus, or worm, or something. As with so many that have gone before, this one is transmitted as an email attachment. Just double-click and die. They never learn. There are certain things one can do to secure a Windows host on a Mac network. Everybody benefits. Let's do it.

A new year is upon us. Times change. Situations change. Operating systems change. And so does the procedure for short-circuiting unwanted internet advertising while browsing on Mac OS X, Apple's world-class computer operating system. Once again, here is the procedure, freshened up for Panther.

Recently Microsoft posted the latest update to Office v.X for Mac, available on its Mactopia site. Not having checked for a while, I had missed a couple of updates in the interim. However, applying all of them rendered Office unusable on my machine. The workaround was elegant, and all is well again.

The latest and greatest from Cupertino is always exciting. I too pre-ordered my copy of Panther, the latest major release of the Mac OS X operating system. Installation went fine except for one step, which needed a little help.

Basically, any major operating system upgrade involves booting from an installation disk, and feeding disks thereafter, if any. My installation of Panther failed during pre-processing of the second of the three installation CDs.

Some time back, this column penned some thoughts on FAXstf for Mac OS X, a nice commercial fax program. With the passage of time, inevitably things break once or twice. Here are a few tips to keep FAXstf happy.

No matter how large one's computer display is, like closet space it's never enough. A concept called virtual desktops was invented some years ago, and has been implemented in various ways since. One option for the Mac OS X operating system is CodeTek VirtualDesktop, an application that extends the display beyond its borders.

It seems that Mac OS X does not have a built-in way to easily change associations between various internet protocols such as ftp and one's applications of choice to handle these protocols. MoreInternet, a system preference for OS X, fills that need.

Recently Apple released a version 10.2.6 update for its Mac OS X operating system. According to certain internet buzz, this update does more than provide bug fixes and security patches. It purportedly causes a near-runaway condition called a memory leak. A problem that transcends the boundaries between operating systems, the solution may be to wait for the next great patch to fix the last one.

For quite some time this column has been touting the virtues of Asante routers, among others. Recently, Critical Mass purchased an Asante FR3002AL wireless NAT gateway and FS5005C ethernet switch pair. While they work well now, the initial setup was not without its teething pains.

Often you know what you are looking for but do not have its name, thus are stymied for finding it. Taking screenshots in Mac OS X could be like that for anyone not raised on an earlier Mac OS. Here is the skinny.