Microsoft applications: Issues to be aware of - Computers - Software

Problems with Microsoft Outlook

According to slipstick.com the Windows update issued on December 14th contained an automatic update for Outlook and subsequently users may have found that it caused Outlook to operate at a slower speed than usual. In particular the update caused the software to slow down when changing folders. If you find this to be the case on your machine the best thing to do is to uninstall it and in future change the Windows update settings to send you an alert before each update installs. Another common problem with Microsoft Outlook is the tendency of the software to crash when the message function is being used. The problem may be caused by corruption of the delivery folder system in that the software tries to access a folder that doesnt actually exist. Its considerably more common with POP3 email accounts. The way of overcoming this is to select a delivery location in Account settings. In Outlook 2010 this is located on the File tab, in Outlook 2007 its on Tools menu. Select the C hange Folder option then select a folder to deliver messages to and finally leave Outlook and then return to it and send a test email to see if it crashes.Outlook 2010 has a particular bug that affects the dual zone time zone feature. When you use this and one zone you are working with uses DST and the other doesnt, the bug causes the Use DST checkbox to become unchecked when you swap time zones, at the point in time when the time zone with DST is active. Unfortunately Outlook 2010 doesnt display this checkbox and so invariably the only way in which you can detect this happening is if you happen to notice that the computers clock is out by an hour. Microsoft hasnt fixed this bug yet, so if you notice that the timing is out, you will have to enter the Date and Time applet in the control panel and activate Use DST after youve swapped time zones.Outlook has something called a Social Connector which includes providers for various social networks including Facebook, Live Messenge r, LinkedIn and MySpace. For those using Outlook 2007, there is an update available on Windows Update.

Microsoft Office

In November last year Microsoft released an update to its Office for Mac 2011 software in response to complaints of unresponsiveness and the tendency to stop suddenly. This update, Office for Mac 14.01, is available online from the Microsoft Download Centre or from MacUpdate.com. The new update also improves compatibility between new Office applications and older ones as well as improving Outlook, Excel, Powerpoint and Word.

Problems with AVG 2011

Its becoming clear to many users of the formerly popular AVG Free downloadable anti-virus software that there are some serious problems with the 2011 version, especially when using Microsoft Word and Outlook. The most common problem is that Windows or Outlook doesnt open properly, if at all. One poster on Windows Seven forum reported that the only way in which he could resolve the problem was to disable the Outlook email add-in facility, which basically defeats the object of downloading AVG in the first place. Other posters responded to this by recommending other free anti-virus software, such as Avast, while one poster stated that in his opinion AVG had gone downhill over the past few years. Elsewhere, AVG 11 seems to have had a mixed reception. On a PC Advisor forum for example, some posters reported that their version worked fine while others stated that they had uninstalled it and stuck with AVG 2009 instead. A report on the Softpedia website stated that AVG 2011 has h ad the apparent tendency to make computers flood websites with HTTP requests and in many cases prevent users from using their browers properly. The story identifies the problem as originating from a bug in the Linkscanner component of the software. This Linkscanner is a component of all the AVG 2011 versions including the downloadable free version.

Posters on the AVG forum are also reporting that the new update causes problems with Windows 7. One of them states that a possible solution is to reboot the computer into Safe mode, carry out a System Restore and then re-install the update. Personally speaking, I have AVG Free 2009 installed on my PC and it works fine. I also have Norton Anti-Virus installed and its that I tend to use more often. I would personally recommend therefore that before you install AVG 2011, you take a good look at what people are saying about it on the net. If you wish to try it, go ahead, but if it causes problems dont even bother trying to reinstall it but look around elsewhere instead.

Krebs on Security warns of Microsoft Image problem

The Krebs on Security blog reported in January that Microsoft had detected a flaw by which Malware proponents could potentially attack PCs by getting the user to view a particular image in a browser. The problem seems to stem from a bug in the Windows Graphics Rendering System on Vista, Server 2003 and Windows XP. Microsoft said that it was working on the problem but hadnt received any reports of actual attacks yet. The problem was detected by a couple of researchers who announced their findings at a conference in Korea last year. Microsoft have issued a fixit tool to guard against any possible attacks while they develop a longer term solution. The fixit tool is available on: /kb/2490606.

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