yes all critical updates listed in the windows update list should be done, even for programs you do not use, if they are on the pc and have a hole in them which creates a vulnerbility it has to be patched or you are wide open to intrusion, makes no difference how often you use it. If you choose to not move up to IE8 and keep IE7 you still need to do any updates issued for that version of IE. this is why the secuina tool is so helpful to keep us updated on all the things we need to be updated on. Secunia Online Software Inspector be sure if it shows java or flash or adobe needs updating to do them they are huge risks for infections with out the latest updates. You should only have the latest versions on your pc, once you have the latest version you can go to add remove programs and remove the older versions to keep the pc safe.

Not sure that this will result in what you are looking for but here goes. Select File then Open. (When I do this the folder that is opened is My Documents which is where I store my document files.) There make sure that the selection of files to be opened are Word Documents (*.doc). Near the top of the Open dialog box is Modified. Click on that to choose whether you want the files to be listed in ascending or descending order. (When I do this, the files that are shown are *.doc documents along with the "sub"-folders that are also in the My Documents folder -- and the *.doc files are either ascending or descending chronological order.)

I followed your suggestion on a file saved to my system and the file did not have the "read only" box checked, but when I open it ... it defaults to "file viewer" mode. When I try the same action on a file sent to me, selection of properties does not show the check boxes for read only, etc.

Many years ago, I had a upsetting, disagreement with a close family member. That night I wrote a long, rambling letter bringing up every thing this person did from the beginning of time. I was upset and, maybe its a female thing, I wrote this ridiculously long letter using Word so I could password protect it. I had thought I would sleep on it and reread it the next day before sending. I didn't want to send an email. Well, needless to say, the next day the problem resolved. Everything was wonderful, I totally forgot about the letter. Long time later (maybe a year), I'm cleaning out my computer and find this cryptic Word doc that I couldn't open. I was deleting a bunch of junk. Then, I remembered that letter ! It was not something I would want on my computer (as life with this person was wonderful). So, I tried to delete it, couldn't. Needed a password. Had no idea what that could be. I was upset when written and heaven knows what I came up with. That letter still sits on this computer. I could never figure out the password. Back then, I thought I would have a new computer (this one is XP) and I would wipe the drive. Well I'm still using this machine and hope I can finally wipe it out and get a new machine. On another note, I worked in the medical field for years. Sometimes I would write letters for patients from home (rather than the office computer) in the evening to save time at work. I would password those letters, copy them on a flash drive and taken them to work. Copy to the work machine then delete from the flash and the home machine. Not ideal, probably not the best thing to do, but I did it. Any patient letters were always password protected. I sympathize with the OP as I've been there many times. If I did that now, I would write the password down. I didn't back then and never found a way to open that personal letter. I'll wait for Windows 10 then wipe this drive. Hope you find a way, Jane