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The following appeared in a column in the San Francisco Chronicle today: Q: "I discovered, to my distress, how many "temporary Internet files" my hard disk was storing using Microsoft Internet Explorer. Many of these are small, but the disk space consumed was far in excess of the size of the contents. How do I tell Internet Explorer to limit the length of time these files are stored?" A: "Temporary Internet files, also called 'cache' files, consist of graphics and other elements of Web Pages [including "digital signatures"]. When you visit a page for the first time, your browser stores the "constant elements" of the Page so that it can be opened faster on subsequent visits. Unfortunately, you can't set an automatic expiration time for temporary Internet files. But you can delete cached files and limit the amount of disk space they take up. In Internet Explorer, choose Internet Options. In the General tab you'll see a button for deleting temporary Internet files, and another button called Settings, which lets you determine the maximum amount of disk space for temporary files." (also, disable "Digital Signatures") I have been making a pest of myself in complaining about the use of Microsoft Internet Explorer/Outlook Express with its "special features" enabled (the "default" setting when you get the program), and how, for many of us, this results in e-mail messages coming with "attachments" and other binary junk. The above question, asked in a computer column in our local newspaper, addresses only the cluttering of the *sender's* hard drive; this accumulation also occurs on the *recipient's* hard drive. I am making a plea to those of you who use IE and/or Outlook Express, to disable these "bells and whistles" when posting List messages. Leaving them in place can cause crashes, clutter up one's hard disk; and, in my case, will result in my not reading those messages. Best, Bob *********************************** ROBERT A. FINK, M. D., F.A.C.S. Neurological Surgery 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, CA 94704-2636 USA Phone: (510) 849-2555 FAX: (510) 849-2557 WWW: <http://www.dovecom.com/rafink/> mailto:[log in to unmask] "Ex Tristitia Virtus" ***********************************