I was on my way out when I posted the previous post. In the mean time I have given thought about my post and would like to add this.

I mentioned the benefit of keeping your address book in a database file outside of the MS address book. Using Filemaker as an example, I believe it is Claris, you can set up a database where you have names, addresses, emails and phone numbers as well as other criteria like collecting interests, is the person a collector, a dealer, a subscriber to a newsletter,Part of a RR group, anti-slab etc. Once you have all the data in the database you can then set up various reports with different information. For example you could set up one for Mailing Labels. Another in the format that would go into an email. Now you can call up whatever report you need and set the criteria for a search. Say you are emailing to a RR group. You type in the title of that RR in the search page and return all the names listed by that designation. If you have the email template set up you will get all their email addresses conveniently formatted to just cut and paste into an email. If you need mailing labels you simply call up that template insert a sheet of 5160 labels into your printer and you have mailing lables for your envelopes. This is what I do with my Xmas Card list. I have 100 names in it and have put fields in that indicate whether I received a card from the person last year or not and if I sent a card to them last year or not and if their card was returned for bad address. As I get close to Christmas I can just print out those that were returned and try to find new addresses. If I am short on cards or decide I do not want, for some reason to send as many, I can omit those that did not send me a card. Then I just print the rest. It would be the same idea as the address book but far more powerful.

If you were to hide the files with inconspicuous names that are still easy for you to remember than it will lessen the chance that a virus will find the file. Another possibility here is to not keep the data file on the computer. Keep it on a ZipDisk or better a CD etc. With a CD, the virus can't attach to the contents of the disc. You would not have to worry about reinserting the CD later for fear of reinfection. Also you will have that valuable data backed up if you have a crash. You would just update the data disc periodically. You can insert the data disc into the computer, do your search and use your data, then remove the disc and delete the info from the computer. Then, if a virus invaded your computer it would not find the file and might not be able to send itself to the people on your disc.