Untangling file associations in Outlook Express mail

Q. When I try to open an attachment in my Outlook Express mail, I get an oblong box with a message with a red circle with an X in the middle that says, “This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the folder options control panel.” I have tried to perform this task, but I’m unable to do so. Could you help me?

— D.M., Sanford, N.C.

A. To check file associations, go to the start menu and click “Control Panel.” If you’re using the category view, you’ll then need to click on the folder for “Appearance and Themes;” otherwise just click “Folder Options.”

A window will pop up; select the “File Types” tab and find the extension (such as doc or jpg — more on this below) that’s causing problems. For each one, select it, click “Change” and choose the desired program. Check the box to “always use the selected program to open this type of file,” and click “OK.”

You should be able to tell the problematic extension in the file name (e.g. flowers.doc or flowers.jpg). If the extension isn’t visible, go to “Folder Options” and click the “View” tab. Uncheck the box next to “Hide extensions for known file types.” Click “Apply” and “OK.” Thanks to the geeks on the CNET forums for this answer.

Q. You published an article about safely cleaning up our computers with programs that you recommended. These programs are free, but I wonder if they require updating on a regular basis to address any new problems that have been discovered. I keep a copy of all the programs you recommended on my computer and will run them periodically to keep the spyware, etc. from building up. Should I delete these programs and download the current versions?

— B.H.

A. CCleaner, Malwarebytes and AVG all have an update feature built into them, and the latter two definitely need to stay up to date to be able to find and clean out the latest spyware. The update process is very straightforward.

Malwarebytes checks for updates during the initial installation to ensure its definitions will be as recent as possible. Once it’s installed, you can just click on the “Updates” tab to see the last update and check for new ones.

You can check for updates in CCleaner via a small link at the bottom right of every page. And with AVG 2011, there’s a button on the left for one-click updating. I’m not sure about earlier versions of AVG, but it should be just as clear.

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2010, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)