You can disable the two DOS programs which evil hackers most often use to wipe out your hard drive data. DOS is still there, running behind windows; at least through Millennium Edition; I dont know about Win2K.
[Not all hackers are maleficent, quite the contrary; they are mostly the good guys. The media tells us they are all demons, and can launch ICBMs by simply whistling the correct series of tones into a telephone. Remember; it was hackers who gave us PGP] Rename the file extension of the two files fdisk.exe, and format.com, so that they are no longer executable; even if a worm or other cyberpathogen gets in it cannot use these utilities to do damage. 1. Start, Programs, MS-DOS prompt. 2. Note the command prompt: C:\> 3. Type cd\windows\command This takes you to the command directory [Remember, when we had to do stuff like this to do anything on our computer?] 4. Type this: rename format.com format.con [then, hit return.] 5. Then type: rename fdisk.exe fdisk.exx [then, hit return.] 6. If you need to use these programs for the purpose for which they are intended, do the same procedure, only correct the changes back to .exe and .com Dont mix the extensions between the programs; fdisk is exe and format is com 7. If you have trouble, consult with someone who still remembers how to use DOS commands. Spacing and punctuation must be exact. The change of the file extension [the three letters to the right of the dot, does not matter; you may use anything except .exe or .com. For example .cox or .zzz or whatever. Using the above characters will make it easier to remember the correct extension. By convention, .com and .exe tell the operating system that the file is executable, i.e. it is a program which will perform some series of actions when called by the operating system or another program. I am not certain that I have every detail correct; you may need to do other procedures in your machine to get to the right directory containing these files, but this is the basic principle. Do not be misled into thinking this will protect you from more sophisticated attacks. Keep your anti-virus programs armed and loaded with the latest updates, and still use caution opening attachments. This is courtesy of a gentleman named M.L. Shannon, and was swiped without guilt from the May 2001 edition of Nuts and Volts, an excellent electronics print magazine. www.nutsvolst.com <http://www.nutsvolst.com/> . JOH James-Osbourne: Holmes
