You can take your protests to the manufacturer, Mars. They also make a bunch of other products, including M&Ms, Skittles and Snickers (complete list here: http://www.mars.com/global/Mars+Directory/United+States/Company+Search+Results.htm), so be sure you're not rewarding them by buying other products they manufacture. I don't ordinarily resort to this, but I finally sent them an email pointing out how their commercials are having the exact opposite of the desired effect, and asking them to cease and desist. Whether they even respond to the email or not, we'll see. I'll keep y'all posted if they do. Here is a link that might be useful: Give them a piece of your mind

Ctopher-- the packaging pouch containing the test components was very clearly labeled HVX. The sample extract bags and instructions were for HVX but the test strips they gave me were for cucumber mosaic virus. As I'm sure you know, the labeling letters on the strips are pretty tiny. I had never used this test before, nor is my eyesight that great. Only if the outer packaging pouch had been labeled CMV would I have noticed. On the plus side, Agdia overnighted a new HVX test kit at no charge (which arrived less than 24 hours after I called them!) and only one of the six hostas I re-tested was positive. Not much false hope given by those first six mismatched tests. Also, the buffering solution in the HVX sample extract bags is the same as the solution used for a CMV test, so I essentially got a free set of CMV tests out of it. Not that I was particularly concerned about CMV. If there are any hosta peeps in central VA who are, stop by the house and I'll hook you up.

I sometimes speak up concerning others' suggestions that seem like Chicken Little-type fear mongering. I also think too many people have too many unsupported fears of unlikely risks on the internet and from PC use in general. I'm generally in agreement with Kudzu's comments, but let's be realistic - no one knows what the evil doers will do. Using an XP PC on a network that's unconnected to the internet - I'd say zero risk. Use it in full confidence until the hardware dies. Using an XP PC on the internet? Time will tell. Having capable firewalls, updated security software, etc., is a must for all PCs with all operating systems anyway. I have an XP PC that I use very occasionally that has all the protection reasonably available. I'll be sure to remove any personal info and will use it carefully. If I see any hint of odd activity, I'll just replace it. For most PCs old enough to have XP, spending good money to put a newer Windows on old hardware seems a poor choice to me.

First, yes you can get a trojan by clicking on a url or link if the link has a .exe file extension. Probably since the page didn't load just means it timed out because the server was busy or not responding. This sometimes happens if the website is heavy with graphics and you have dial-up. I don't think you have much to worry about. If a trojan tried to install, your McAfee would have sent up a red flag. http://all-yours.net/ looks fine to me. I've had problems sometimes with e-cards loading because of all the flash animation, graphics and music all trying to load at the same time, which causes a time out with the browser, usually around 30 seconds. Manually not much you can do unless the name of the installed trojan is known. You can click start/run/ and type> MRT to run a scan with the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool.