Searching Your Hard Disk
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about searching your hard disk, copying your Outlook Express address book and using the cookie-management features of a Web browser.
If you have a question, send it to me at
mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.
Q: I am moving from an old Dell with Windows XP to a new one. I want to move over a wonderful picture of a covered bridge that I use for my desktop. It has family significance, and it's my only copy. But, I can't find the bridge picture anywhere. I didn't keep all my photos in the "My Pictures" folder and have no idea where they all are.
A: If you go to the Display control panel, select the Desktop tab and highlight the name of your bridge picture (which should be listed there), and then click on Browse, you may see the folder where the picture resides.
This doesn't always work. If it doesn't, because this picture has personal significance for you, I suspect it would be worth it for you to spend some time and effort to conduct a thorough search. And, since the built-in search in Windows is awful, I suggest you download and install one of two free search programs that can find pictures anywhere on your hard disk and show you a preview of them.
Both Yahoo Desktop Search (at desktop.yahoo.com) and MSN Desktop Search (at toolbar.msn.com) meet that description (the popular Google desktop search has no preview feature). They require time to index your hard disk, but, once they do so, they should be able to locate and find your bridge picture.
Q: Is there any way I can copy the address book used by Outlook Express so I can move it to a second computer?
A: Yes. The address book is contained in a file whose name is usually your user name, followed by a period and the letters "WAB," for Windows Address Book. It usually resides deep in a subfolder in the Documents and Settings folder.
To find it, use the built-in Windows search system (it's weak, but can do this particular task) or a third-party search program to search for "WAB" or ".WAB". It should come up. Once you find it, you can just copy it like any file to a removable medium, like a writable CD or a USB thumb drive, or even email it to yourself.
When you copy it to your new computer, remember where you placed it. Then, open Outlook Express on the second computer, and open the address book by going to the Tools menu and clicking on Address Book. Go to the address book's File menu, select Import, and click Address Book (WAB). Navigate to the address-book file that you copied from the first PC, and then click Open.
Q: Why do you recommend using antispyware software to get rid of tracking cookies? Isn't it more effective to just use the cookie-management features of a Web browser to delete these cookies or block them in the first place?
A: No. The cookie-management features in popular browsers don't distinguish between tracking cookies, a type of spyware that records your activities online, and the many helpful cookies you probably want to keep, like those that store your login information or preferences on a site. Some allow you to block or delete only "third-party" cookies, which might trap some tracking cookies placed by Internet advertising firms who aren't the actual operators of the Web sites you visit. But this may not always work.
Instead, I recommend using a good antispyware program, which every Windows user should be running anyway. These programs aren't focused on cookies in general, but on every kind of computer code, including tracking cookies, that qualify as spyware and adware. They detect tracking cookies by maintaining lists of the most common ones, and they update this information constantly. They leave nontracking cookies alone.
Of course, you could use both methods. You could set your browser to reject third-party cookies (assuming that this doesn't impair your browsing experience) and still run regular spyware scans to catch any tracking cookies that still make it through.
搜索你的硬盘
在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
本周我将回答读者有关搜索硬盘、电脑间复制通讯簿和如何消除tracking cookie的问题。
问：我原来使用安装有Windows XP的戴尔旧电脑，现在正要换一台新电脑。我想把用作桌面的一张很好的廊桥照片转移到新电脑上。这张照片对我的家庭相当有意义，而且它是我唯一的副本。可是，我在电脑里怎么也找不到这张廊桥的照片。我没有把所有的照片都保存在“我的图片”文件夹里面，所以也不知道它们到底在哪儿。
答：你可以在控制台中进入“显示”项，选择“桌面”，然后选中廊桥照片的文件名（它应该就列在那里），再点击“浏览”键，你可能就会看到照片所在的文件夹了。
这可不一定总行得通。如果行不通的话，由于这张照片对你具有个人意义，所以我认为你花上一点时间和精力进行彻底的搜索还是值得的。鉴于Windows内置的搜索功能非常糟糕，我建议你下载并安装以下两个免费搜索软件中的一个，它们可以找到你硬盘上任何地方的照片并能够提供预览显示。
Yahoo Desktop Search（可从desktop.yahoo.com上下载）和MSN Desktop Search（可从toolbar.msn.com上下载）都符合这样的要求（广受欢迎的Google桌面搜索系统没有预览功能）。它们对你的硬盘进行索引需要一定的时间，但是，一旦它们这样做了，就应当能够发现并找到你的廊桥照片。
问：有什么办法能让我复制Outlook Express里面的通讯簿，以便我可以把它转移到另外一台电脑上？
答：有的。通讯簿被保存在一个文件中，其名称一般就是你的用户名，后面跟著一点和“WAB”三个字母，代表Windows Address Book。它通常深藏于“文件和设置”文件夹下的一个分文件夹。
要找到通讯簿所在的文件，你可以使用内置的Windows搜索系统（功能很弱，但可以完成这个任务）或者第三方的搜索程序，搜索“WAB”或者“.WAB”，应该就能搜索到。一旦你找到它，你就可以像复制任何文件一样把它复制到一个可移动的介质，如可擦写的CD或者USB拇指碟，甚至通过电子邮件把它发给你自己。
当你把通讯簿复制到新电脑上的时候，要记住你存放的位置。然后，打开新电脑上的Outlook Express，找到“工具”菜单，点击“通讯簿”，打开它。找到通讯簿中的“文件”菜单，选择“导入”，并点中“通讯簿”。找到你从旧电脑上复制过来的通讯簿文件，然后点击“打开”即可。
问：你为什么推荐使用反间谍软件来消除tracking cookie呢？难道首先通过网络浏览器的cookie管理功能来消除这些cookie、或者阻止它们进入电脑不是更加有效吗？
答：不是这样的。在大家普遍使用的浏览器中，cookie管理功能无法将tracking cookie（一种记录你在线活动的间谍软件）从那些你可能想要保留的众多有用的cookie中区分出来，像那些可以存储你的登录信息或网站偏爱的cookie。其中有些只能拦截或删除“第三方”cookie，这样可能会阻挡一些由互联网广告公司设置的一些tracking cookie，而这些公司并非你所浏览的网站的实际运营商。但这种做法不一定总是行得通。
因此，我建议使用一种功能卓越的反间谍程序，无论如何，任何Windows的用户都应该安装它。这种程序并不只针对cookie，而是针对任何一种符合间谍软件和垃圾广告软件定义的电脑编码，包括tracking cookie。它们通过保留最常见的tracking cookie列表，来对它们进行监测，并时时更新此类信息。不是tracking cookie的cookie不会受到影响。
当然，两种方法你都可以使用。你可以将浏览器设置为排斥第三方cookie的状态（假设这并不影响浏览功能），同时仍然可以运行常规的间谍软件扫描程序，来捕捉任何漏网的tracking cookie。
