Non-readable messages.

[GSCole]

Thanks to Andrea for her recent note, as it led me to recheck my
settings in Netscape Communicator.  Some of the security settings that I
made in earlier versions of the program are no longer necessary in the
current non-beta release of 4.72 (and they probably never were
necessary, given my computer usage practices).  Even though I've updated
the program on a regular basis, I hadn't taken a serious look at the
older settings in my preferences (prefs.js) file.  There were several
unnecessary settings in the file.

For those looking to update, please go to the following site, for either
regular or 128-bit Strong Encryption:
http://home.netscape.com/download/
The complete program is a little over 19 mb in size.  Typical home
download should give you time to visit with the neighbors, watch a
couple of hours of TV, or read one of those lengthy novels.  There are
some increases in efficiency, even over version 4.7.  Of course, the
Netscape 6 Preview Release is also available, a smaller download, and
supposedly an even more efficient program.

Anyway, the original security concern wasn't with text, it was with long
file names, and is taken care of in the current release of the program.
The problem was announced in the long-ago days of summer, in 1998.
http://home.netscape.com/security/notes/previous/longfile.html
The option mentioned there is not a concern in the latest versions of
Netscape.

The above statements are not a claim of superiority for Netscape
Communicator, over other similar programs.  I've used Netscape since the
days when the entire program would fit on a small floppy disk; those
were the days.  Microsoft's Internet Explorer is another program that I
sometimes use.  One place to start your search for the latest non-beta
release, 5.01, is at:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/default.asp?

Message being sent with a cleaner preferences file.

George S. Cole   gscole at ark.ship.edu
Shippensburg University