Do the surgical masks that I see everyone wearing protect against viruses? [more inside]
posted by dfriedman on Oct 19, 2009 - 15 answers

I thought I had heard of a website that tracks current viruses, called What's Going Around or something similar. I'm finding tons of local tv stations with special pages for their community, but nothing that ties them all together into one website. Anyone know of a site like this?
posted by jragon on Jul 21, 2009 - 4 answers

I downloaded a .scr file that was probably a virus. I was at least smart enough to trash the file instead of opening it, but is it likely that my computer is infected, anyway; that the file is executed merely by downloading it? (NOTE: This happened on a Macbook Pro.) [more inside]
posted by ProfLinusPauling on May 24, 2009 - 9 answers

Can we talk seriously about Mac OSX security this time? [more inside]
posted by bytewrite on Mar 31, 2009 - 36 answers

Help me settle a bet about the total number of identified bacteria and viruses. [more inside]
posted by greytape on Sep 22, 2008 - 8 answers

Has my gmail been hacked? [more inside]
posted by whoaali on May 24, 2008 - 8 answers

I've got mono. Mono is in your saliva. I'm a nail biter. Did I manage to infect my finger wounds with the virus, and what does that mean for my general health and my poor battered hands? [more inside]
posted by modernpoverty on Oct 17, 2006 - 9 answers

Round about this past April, I developed a nasty, hacking cough that hit only in the mornings. Can my icky, phlegmy self still have this same cold virus, months upon months later? [more inside]
posted by AthenaPolias on Sep 18, 2006 - 15 answers

Does being cold/wet actually have any affect on the contraction of the common cold? [more inside]
posted by borkingchikapa on Aug 3, 2006 - 34 answers

Something called MPREXE has invaded my computer. Is it a virus or part of Microsoft's evil empire... in any case it is making my PC screwy.... help me get rid of it please! [more inside]
posted by zaelic on May 25, 2006 - 16 answers

I just got a new laptop...help me care for it so it has a long and happy life. [more inside]
posted by apple scruff on Jan 18, 2006 - 31 answers

I got virused (a wininit.exe problem) on my computer about ten days ago, and after I thought I had cleaned it, it seems to have zapped me with a sleeper program and now I can't boot to windows, even in Safe Mode. Help! [more inside]
posted by zaelic on Nov 10, 2005 - 23 answers

Windows 2000 users and passwords: Is it possible for Windows to start up without any password prompting, yet have the OS [reasonably] safe from a bot logging in as an admin? [more inside]
posted by rolypolyman on Jul 18, 2005 - 4 answers

Spyware, adware, and viruses. I'm sick of feeling like a moron. [more inside]
posted by patrickje on Jul 8, 2005 - 20 answers

Cold/Flu Contagion:

1) Is there any truth to the rumor that "once you manifest symptoms, you're no longer contagious?"
2) If you're recovering from one illness, are you more or less suceptible to others? eg: If I've just gotten over a cold, is my immune system weak and susceptible to strep throat? Or is it on high-alert and likely to protect me better?
3) Following on number 2, why don't more people get multiple viruses/bugs at once, or in rapid sequence? Anecdotally, it seems that most people enjoy an interval of good health after recovering from something. Is that true?
posted by scarabic on Feb 16, 2005 - 4 answers

Spam-a-lot: Are there spam filters that can reject phony "Mail returned" virus e-mails by comparing the "failed" address to what you've actually sent? Such hoaxes are dominating my daily spam quotient, despite my use of spam-blocker Razor. But it seems like these would be easy enough for a program to detect.
posted by inksyndicate on Jul 28, 2004 - 3 answers

PCFilter : Is there any way to tell what program inserted something into the registry?
I've been attacked by four seperate virii that sophos claims don't exist in the wild. One of them (netclnc.exe) keeps reappearing in my registry and the system32, and I want to know what's putting it there so I can kill it. Ideas?
posted by twine42 on Jul 18, 2004 - 14 answers