Q. I understand that fax problems probably aren’t included in your amazing repertoire of tips and helpful hints, Mr. M., but if you can help me with this, I would really appreciate it. I’m plagued by unwanted, unsolicited, unneeded and irritating faxes. Each one consumes my paper, toner, and electricity. There is usually an 800 number to call to be removed from senders’ lists, but rarely is the name of a sender provided, so I can t report anybody to the no-call people. Any suggestions?

A. I agree, unsolicited faxes are a real problem today, but the same advice applies to junk faxes as applies to spam: Never respond. There's usually a sentence that says, "Call 800-XXX-XXXX to be removed from this list," or words to that effect. If you call, you're confirming that your fax number is a valid number and that the fax reached you. That validation makes your fax number more valuable, enabling it to be sold at a premium to other junk faxers. The end result is even more faxes.

Most newer fax machines have junk-fax filters. I use a Panasonic KX-FL511 machine that I bought about a year ago. Once I turned on its junk-fax filter, my junk faxes dropped from 10 or 15 a day to one or two. It does block a legitimate fax on occasion, but when that happens and the person trying to fax me tells me they can't get through, I just turn off the junk-fax filter to allow that one fax, then enable it again.

The FCC also provides some helpful information in their article, “Fax Advertising: What You Need to Know,” at http://tinyurl.com/va8n.

Q. When I try to open a spreadsheet file in Excel, I get an error message that says, “Locked for editing.” I created the file, so I don’t know how it could be locked. Can you help, Mr. M?

A. What you’re experiencing is a fairly common problem that’s easily resolved. All you have to do is right-click the file, select Properties, and look under Attributes. You’ll find that “Read Only” is checked. Remove the check mark, click Apply > OK, and you’ll be able to access and edit the file again.

Mr. Modem's Sites of the Week:

Virtual Sweden
This site is perfect if you’re planning a trip to Sweden, as I am to visit my uncle Sven Kipper, or if you simply enjoy learning about other countries. The site includes a large gallery of images from various locations throughout Sweden, as well as other parts of the world. As you view the photos, keep in mind that your computer is actually accessing Virtual Sweden’s host computer, located in Sweden. I first went on the Internet in 1988, but I still think that’s amazing. Not as amazing as Uncle Sven, but amazing nevertheless.
www.virtualsweden.se

Pandora.com
Pandora was created by the Music Genome Project as more of a musical experiment than a practical site. The objective is to invite visitors to select their favorite music, then through analysis of their selected melody, harmony, rhythm and instrumentation, the site will present other music it feels the individual might also enjoy. Be sure to read the Pandora FAQ at http://blog.pandora.com/faq/ before participating.
www.pandora.com

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