Intercept junkmail and viruses before they get to your Inbox.
MailWasher® Pro -
MailWasher Pro lets you preview your email before it gets to your computer. You can customize Friends and Blacklists and even
bounce spam right back to the originator which will eventually get you removed from spam mail lists.
This document lists some frequently asked questions about the applications you can find here and provides answers to these (and other, related) questions.
When e-mailing me regarding a possible bug, be sure to mention these things: The name and exact version of the program that the bug occurs on. Which OS you are running the program on (i.e. Windows 98, Windows XP, Vista, etc.). Exactly what the problem is. (Don't merely say "feature X doesn't work"). Detailed steps to reproduce the problem, if possible. Use screenshots wherever you can. Appreciate it!
All e-mail is answered. If you did not receive a reply, your e-mail was not received or your return e-mail address is incorrect. Please check your return e-mail address and re-send your e-mail. Also, make sure your e-mail program and/or spamfilters will accept e-mails from "David De Groot" (mark them as allowed, legitimate or permitted senders).
Sometimes my replies bounce back: that's the case at Comcast.net and AOL (occasionally GMail too, depending on their spam filters). These ISP's refuse our messages for reasons beyond my knowledge. If your e-mail provider is amongst these, please mail me from another e-mail account (you can use Yahoo or a similar free web mail service).
It may also be that your e-mail was deleted by my spam filters. To avoid this, read on.
SOME MINOR TIPS
Check your return e-mail address (if your return e-mail address is wrong or not valid, I can't receive your e-mail, so check and double-check that your reply-to address is correct)
Do the effort to put my full name in the TO: field (not just the e-mail-address)
Have a subject other than a subject that spammers would use (try the name of the program you have a question about, or enter a short version of the question you want to ask)
What's all this about SPAM?
Spam is unsolicited, mass, electronic distribution of email or newsgroup postings. It originates in the form of unsolicited promotion, business offerings, pornography, chain letters, and in the case of newsgroup postings, harassment. Most spam will arrive in your inbox with an inaccurate 'To' or 'From' address. This is why spam is at times difficult to track or block.
What can I do to minimize spam in my e-mail box?
I would suggest that you not send messages back or reply to the sender. Doing so may only indicate to the sender that you are receiving their spam. You can stop unwanted e-mail by setting up a filter system if your e-mail client allows it, or you could use a more effective solution in the form of an anti-spam program like MailWasher.
Downloads
Your zip file is only 13kb and my zip program said it's not a valid file.
Such an error is usually due to a communications error that caused the file you downloaded to be corrupted. This mainly occurs when downloading during busy hours. Almost always, discarding the damaged file and downloading a new copy will correct this problem. Another option is to download from another location. If you still have the problem, try to clear the cache of your browser before downloading the file again, or simply try to download it with another web browser. If the problem persists though, give me call.
What's this zip file thing anyway? I can't open it?
A .zip file is a single compressed file that contains a complete set of files. Compressed files are valuable in the electronic world because they cut your download time drastically, and they make it possible to download just one file rather than the full set of files (which can often be dozens of individual files). A few good freeware zip/unzip programs are 7-Zip and ZipGenius. More freeware zip/unzip programs are available at SnapFiles.
Error messages
I get the error: "A required DLL file, MSVBVM60.DLL, was not found".
Since all my programs are written in Visual Basic, you need the vbruntimes to run them. You can download this file from the Support files page. This package includes more than just the MSVBVM60.DLL and will update all your outdated system files.
I get the error: "You do not have an appropriate license to use this functionality."
This message can appear when there is a version issue with the tab control (.ocx) used by PIXresizer and other programs.
This will fix the problem:
Uninstall PIXresizer
Look for a "Tabctl32.ocx" in "Windows\System32" and rename it to "Tabctl32.ocx.OLD"
Install PIXresizer again
Here's the same procedure in more detail:
Uninstall PIXresizer from the Control Panel - Add or Remove Programs
Use Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) to go to c:\windows\system32
Find the tabctl32.ocx file and rename it to tabctl32.ocx.OLD
If you can't rename it because it's in use, close all of the programs you have running. This includes those in your system tray near the clock. Right click the icons and choose to exit those programs.
After renaming, install PIXresizer again - make sure you have the latest version.
I think I've found a bug in one of your programs. Where can I report it?
You can e-mail me (see the readme.txt that comes with the program for the address).
Try to write a brief description of the problem and the exact error message. If the problem is reproducible, please list the steps required to cause it. If the problem is not reproducible, please describe the circumstances under which it occurred. Do include the operating system version and any service packs that may be installed.
Again: when e-mailing me regarding a possible bug, be sure to mention these things:
The name and exact version of the program that the bug occurs on.
Which OS you are running the program on (i.e. Windows 98, NT 4.0, etc.).
Exactly what the problem is. (Don't merely say "feature X doesn't work").
Detailed steps to reproduce the problem, if possible.
General things
I ran my antvirus on your file, and got warning of a suspicious file?
Please rest assured: there are no malwares of any kind in any of the programs on this site. Unfortunately, antivirus or antimalware programs are not perfect, and sometimes they detect innocent software as infected with a trojan or a virus. This problem is known as 'False Positive' or 'False Alert'.
If your antivirus software says it found a virus of any kind, I highly recommend you to submit the file in question to them, or at least report it to them. They will then scan the file themselves, see the program or setup is clean and update their definitions database. I can't do that for you as many if not all antivirus companies require details from the user of their product before one can enter a report.
Meanwhile, feel free to upload the file to: Virus Total or Jotti's Malware Scan (both free online scan services, utilizing various anti-virus programs to diagnose single files) do an online scan and see what they come up with.
Alarm - Mar 08, 2010
Lately an amount of false positives are being reported about my Alarm clock application. Please... This software exists since 2002 and never had any type of malware. It does not "phone home" or return any "messages" to me. Quite alarming (!) to see that it took them 8 years to conclude it's a trojan or a virus.
Alarm users have been very helpful in contacting their antivirus suppliers:
Update Apr 29, 2010
Confirmed by McAfee: "This false detection has been corrected and the fix is in today's security update from McAfee. Please update your protection to DAT version 5967 to see this fix." McAfee users can now restore Alarm from quarantine.
Update Apr 30, 2010
Also confirmed by AVG: "Let us inform you that we were not able to induce the detection with the (271.1.1/2840) virus database. We would like to ask you to update your AVG and check the situation once again."
Update Jun 29, 2010
Also confirmed by Avira: "The file 'Alarm.exe' has been determined to be 'CLEAN'. The file 'setup.exe' has been determined to be 'FALSE POSITIVE'. In particular this means that this file is not malicious but a false alarm. Detection will be removed from our virus definition file (VDF) with one of the next updates."
Unfortunately the false positives continue to emerge:
Update Oct 07, 2010
While version 2.0.4 has been OK for while, now Kaspersky and F-Secure seem to have a problem with version 2.0.5. Oh well.
Update Nov 13, 2010
I've just been informed that Ad-Aware version 8.3.5 identified Alarm as a trojan. This doesn't stop does it?
Update Jan 09, 2011
Symantec antivirus program reported that the setup.exe file in the Alarm directory contains a virus, "Trojan.ADH".
Update Jul 05, 2011
While I've never seen any false positives for version 2.0.6, Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is at it again thinking Alarm is bad for you. Well... maybe Lavasoft's Ad-Aware is the bad one for you. If you are running Ad-Aware and like a replacement that works without the false positives, please allow me to recommend Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. It's free, and very well respected. Use it myself.
Anyway, if your security software removed Alarm: you can restore the file from the vault to its original location. You can also set your security software to exclude files from scanning - just add the Alarm executable to the list and you should be fine.
Knowing where your application data folders are stored can be useful if, for example, you want to make a backup of your personal data. The application data files for my programs are stored in:
Windows 95*, 98: C:\Windows\Application Data\Bluefive software\<program name>
Windows 2000, 2003, XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Bluefive software\<program name>
Windows Vista, Windows 7 & 8: C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Bluefive software\<program name>
* Sometimes, in Windows 95, the application data folder cannot be programmatically found due to missing .dll files. In such a case the application data folder will point to the application's program folder.
INF files
The INF file generates the error: "Please insert the disk labeled x".
This errors occurs because Windows INF's are unable to handle long filenames. Let's say your directory is named "C:\Internet Files". The installation INF now tries to find the directory "C:\Internet Files" but this is impossible because it can only access the 8+3 form (DOS) of the directory which in this case would be "C:\INTERN~1"). If however you install from your desktop (mostly "C:\Windows\Desktop") the 8+3 DOSform is OK.
So: try to install from your desktop. Or create a "test" folder in the root of your C: drive and install from there ("C:\test") - XP users may prefer to do that.
Right-clicking an INF file doesn't show the "Install" command. What should I do?
This happens when valuable info about INF files inside the Windows registry has been destroyed. You can fix this: by using Notepad, create a file with the following contents:
Save this file as "Regfix.reg" (use the .reg extension!) and put in on your desktop.
Now doubleclick this file, and the Install command will show again.
Installation
Do I have to uninstall previous versions before installing your program?
Unless otherwise stated in the README.TXT file, no.
Your program doesn't work after installation, what's wrong?
Here are some tips for a good installation:
Windows 95 and 98 users should check if they have the vbruntimes installed (see the Support files page for info and downloads).
Windows NT4 users should at least have Service Pack 4 or later installed.
Always make sure no other programs are running. Not even in the background! (Check your TaskBar for running programs that were minimized, and close them. Also check the SysTray -at the right end of the TaskBar- for running programs in the background, and exit them).
Reboot your computer. Some system files need to be updated during a reboot.
How do I uninstall a program?
If the program came with an .INF-file:
Open the Control Panel, go to Add/Remove Programs.
Then choose the program you wish to uninstall from the list and press the Add/Remove button.
If the program came with a Setup:
Doubleclick the Uninstall icon in the program folder.
In other cases: Right-click the folder of the program you wish to remove and select "Delete".
Miscellaneous
When I start your program, Windows Installer starts to run???
It wants to install a required component? Any idea what is going on?
There's a known problem with the Windows Installer.
I found some .mp3 files which Alarm Clock can't play...
This happens when a codec is missing or when older codecs are in use. You can easily fix this by adding or updating codecs on your system. Sometimes it is necessary to uninstall older codecs before you install the new ones. Here are a few places where you can find new codecs:
When I start FontPage it disappears onto the taskbar...
You probably closed the program while it was minimized.
To get things working again:
start FontPage,
head for the taskbar and
right-click the FontPage icon,
select 'Move' from the popup menu, (this will get you a four-arrow mousepointer)
now point to the center of your screen and
don't click any mousebutton, but
press one of the arrow keys on your keyboard, and move your mouse a little.
Voila! FontPage should now become visible, attached to your mousepointer.
Why can't I find my currency in EuroConvert?
Only the twelve official participators are represented.
Legally, Denmark and the United Kingdom are exercising opt-outs they negotiated from the provisions on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) of the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty) which came into force in November 1993.
What sort of encryption does Mince use?
Mince uses an algorithm of which parts are based on the algorithm used in UUencode, but at the heart of the encryption lies the Visual Basic random number generator.
Is the source for your programs available?
All my programs are copyright materials so the source isn't available.
If I decide to make them Public-Domain, the source code will be included.
