past -- because, of course, you know to be wary of attachments that you're
not expecting, even if they're from people you know, and to never open
e-mails or attachments from people you don't know. But it's relatively easy to
expose hidden extensions, so you might as well do so.
1. Click StartControl Panel, and (in the Classic view in Windows XP)
double-click Folder Options.
2. Click the View tab.
3. Clear the check mark in the Hide Extensions for Known File Types
check box, as shown in Figure 10-4.
Figure 10-4: Show those hidden extensions.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click OK.
This eliminates a great deal of the problems, but a few extensions, such as
.pif
and .shc, might remain hidden. To display all extensions, all the time,
you have to edit the Registry.
Going into the Registry and changing anything can cause catastrophic prob-
lems. So even though this Registry edit is really easy to do, the potential
exists to make a slight error that would be irreversible. Directions for editing
the Registry follow, with the disclaimer that you do this at your own peril.
Part IV: Securing Your Information
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