Answers: July 2001

Zap mystery files, put an end to virus-infected e-mail messages, and protect your laptop from digital phone lines. You've got questions. We've got answers.

Phoning Home

I work out of a satellite office for my parent company and would like to share incoming calls with our main office. Is there a way both locations could receive calls and use caller ID to identify who should take the call?

What you want is an off-premises station line, aka exchange service extension. But don't look to your local phone company for your OPS. You'll need a company specializing in customized communications setups, like Expanets (www.expanets.com). For most jobs, a rough estimate is $1,500 to $3,000 for the hardware and software, plus a few grand for installation.

Mystery Files

My hard drive is full of files titled "file_id.diz." What are these files, and can I delete them?

Trash 'em. DIZ stands for Description in Zip. When all the files that make up a program are zipped, or compressed—usually to cut the download time—they often include a DIZ file that is simply a list of all the other files in the archive. DIZ files are essentially useless. If you're curious about the meaning of obscure file extensions, go to Whatis.com and look for the link to Every File Format in the World.

Nasty Blockage

Our business routes e-mail to 10 employees using 10 different e-mail addresses from our ISP. We tried Mail.com to scan incoming e-mail for viruses and objectionable content, but we found it couldn't work with the separate addresses. What are some other low-cost options that will allow us to keep our e-mail configuration?

You can zap both smutty e-mail and sneaky viruses with off-the-shelf software. It will mean buying and installing the programs on each employee's PC, so ask employees not to meddle with their system setup. Symantec's Norton AntiVirus 2001 ($40; www.symantec.com) is our pick for scrubbing viruses. For filtering adult content, the best choice is Cyber Patrol ($50), a program really intended for home use, though it's just as effective in an office. Be warned, though, if you work at Planned Parenthood, as an aide for Dick Armey, or as a teacher at Beaverton High School, you may not be able to see your own Web site. Try out the trial version at www.cyberpatrol.com.

Digital Dangers

I've heard digital phone lines can damage notebooks. Is there a way to tell if a phone line is analog or digital without hooking up a phone to it?

The connectors for digital lines and analog lines look exactly the same. DIYers can check out tools like Voltage Valet's PDT Digital Phone Line Tester (about $20; www.voltagevalet.com), but most hotels are thoughtful enough to place a written warning if a line is digital. Of course, if you want to really, really make sure, ring the front desk and ask.

Divide and Conquer

I'm using a photo program that won't run on my newly installed Windows Me system. I've read that some people who weren't sure about switching operating systems could install and run both until they decided which they liked. Since I have two hard drives, is there a way I could continue with Me on my C: drive, and install Windows 98 on my D: drive, so I can still use my old Win98-compatible program?

PartitionMagic (www.powerquest .com/partitionmagic) was created with you in mind. It lets you change the partitioning scheme for your hard drive while keeping its files intact. Once you've split the drive into partitions and installed different versions of Windows on each, use the companion program, BootMagic, to switch between the two easily. It costs $70, but that's a lot cheaper than a second PC.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Ziff Davis Smart Business.