"BoaterDave" wrote in message
...
My thanks to both Frank and Shenan. I appreciate your comments.

I've spent hundreds of hours 'experimenting'over the last 12 months,
culminating with a discussion with a young man (mid 20's) who is employed
in
a local computer shop. He is a self-confessed ex 'script kiddie' hacker
who
has now reformed and spends most of his time helping others by repairing
PC's and ridding them of 'nasties'. He is real and not just a 'virtual'
entity. I believe what he tells me. Perhaps that is because he is getting
married soon and has introduced me to his fiance.

One thing he mentioned recently was '.bat' files. He was absolutely
adamant
that, with only two exceptions, other such files indicate that a PC has
been
compromised, often without the knowledge of the user. I have tried to
convince others of this, but none believe me.

I was concerned about the web site because of the utilisation of '.bat'
files
if one follows the use of a HOSTS file, he
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm


That particular site is one I will vouch for. The BAT files there are not
harmful and can be quite useful. They are also quite well known. If I were
to use them I would change the names, however, but to something I was sure I
could remember. The reason is that they are so well known that malware
might look for them and try to change them to do something nasty.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Answer in newsgroup. Don't send mail.