Q Several weeks ago I tried to access my MSN e-mail and got what seemed like a legitimate message asking me to type in my e-mail address and password. When I still couldn't get into my e-mail, Cox Communications, my Internet service provider, helped me change my password. As soon as I changed it, I opened my e-mail to find 350 rejected e-mails I supposedly had sent. I deleted them, but for days more showed up. Now I'm receiving none. What happened?

BOB WEAVER, HENDERSON, NEV.

A You were apparently dealing with a phishing website, one that looked like the real MSN e-mail page but wasn't. Perpetrators of phishing schemes hope that people will react as you did: Type in personal information when prompted. Someone apparently used your password to send hundreds of spam, or junk e-mail, messages. The messages that were rejected by recipients' spam filters bounced back to your e-mail account. Now that you've regained control of your e-mail account by changing the password, you shouldn't get any more of the rejected e-mails.

Q We installed Office 2007 on our Windows XP PC. But after that, the spell checker in our Outlook Express e-mail program would only work for French, not English. How can we fix this?

MARLYS THOMSEN, APPLE VALLEY

A Microsoft's Office 2007 has an unfortunate side effect: it removes the English, Spanish and German spell-check files from Microsoft's Outlook Express version 6, which is probably what you have. It then replaces those files with newer ones that Outlook Express can't use.

Because Microsoft is phasing out the Outlook Express program, it suggests you use a third-party spell-checker program instead. Links to some Outlook Express-compatible spell checkers can be found at www.startribune.com/ a4440.

Q My Windows XP PC occasionally has problems printing Adobe PDF files with the Adobe Reader 6 program. Several minutes pass between when I select the print option and the printer responds. I particularly have problems with some college websites and downloadable state tax forms. What can I do?

TERRY GRAY, CHANHASSEN

A The Adobe Systems website offers ways to diagnose possible problems (which include a damaged PDF file, PC memory problems and printer connection errors) and suggests alternative ways to print PDF files (such as downloading the file again or resetting the software for "image printing"). You can find them at www.startribune.com/a4441.

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