I am trying to update my definition files for Ad-Aware SE 1.05 so that I am safer from adware. When I try to download the updates from within the software, I get the following message: Error retrieving update. How do I fix this?

Ordinarily, I would suggest checking to make sure your Internet connection works, making sure the connection is not being blocked by a firewall, and so on. (more…)

I have a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 on my laptop. When I save files from Word, I can’t open them on my PC, which has Office 2003. So, why can’t Microsoft Office 2007 files be opened in Office 2003?

The reason is due to Microsoft creating a new file format called Office Open XML. There are numerous advantages to this, one being smaller file sizes compared to the older version of office. By default, all Office 2007 files now have an x added to the end; .doc is now .docx, .xls is now .xlsx and so on. Therefore previous versions of Office cannot open these new files natively.

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I think I have a virus, but I am not sure. I do have Norton AntiVirus running, but it might not be up-to-date. Now, when I try to update the virus definition files using LiveUpdate, it doesn’t let me (I get an error). What steps should I take now?

Firstly, it is important that LiveUpdate works - as this ensures that you have the latest virus definition files, and if your definition files are out-of-date, you are not necessarily protected against the latest threats. (more…)

I have an Excel file which is behaving differently on my PC to my laptop (both running Windows XP Professional with Office XP). On my PC, I see negative numbers as just that - a number beginning with a minus sign, for example -247.

However, on my laptop, if I look at the same file, I see the negative numbers as numbers in brackets, for example (247). Any ideas why this is?

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