Q&A
Pictures won't mess up your scanner

By Kim Komando
Gannett News Service

Q. My daughter's school pictures reorder form says scanning the copyrighted pictures could damage a scanner. Is this really possible, or is it a scare tactic?

A. It's probably a scare tactic because Hewlett-Packard, which manufactures several scanner models, says it knows of no way a picture could damage a scanner.

Q. Two adult sites have appeared in Internet Explorer without my knowledge. My wife is accusing me of looking at pornography and I haven't. Can you explain this so I don't lose my marriage?

A. You apparently are the victim of adware or spyware, hidden software that tracks your surfing habits and pops up Web advertising based on the sites you have visited. The spyware might have surreptitiously installed itself when you downloaded a program or clicked what you thought was the close box on a pop-up ad. There are two excellent programs that wipe out spyware: Ad-aware (www.lavasoftusa.com) and Spybot Search and Destroy (safer-networking.org). Run them both.

Q. When I click a link in Microsoft Internet Explorer and a new window opens, it is only about half the size of the screen. How can I make the new windows full-size?

A. Try expanding the window manually, closing Internet Explorer and then reopening it. In some cases, that will work, but if not, install IE New Window Maximizer, which is free. It's available at www.jiisoft.com.