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Downgrade your computer to Windows XP, prior to Service Pack 1 Disable all antivirus and security software Using Internet Explorer 6, browse high risk websites heavy with flash and java applets Make sure to open all suspicious emails.  If an email has an attachment in EXE format, make sure to execute it.  Multiple times. If the error persists, take your PC to the bathroom and plug it in.  Fill your tub with water, get in, and with your body submerged, quickly lower the tower into the water. These steps may or may not fix the problem, but at the very least it'll give you lots of other things to worry about, and hopefully keep you from calling us back for a while.   /s

Best defense for identity theft is NOT Lifelock. You do know that the President of Lifelock was victim of identity theft? They also paid a $12 Million fine for illegal actions. Best defense is to log on to all three credit bureaus and "freeze" your credit. Cost ranges from $0 - $10 per bureau, depending upon the state you live in. With credit frozen, no one can open an account using your SS#. The bureaus will report "frozen" when an inquiry is made. If you then need to apply for credit, the bureaus issue you a password. You call the Bureau that the business uses, and in 30 seconds, your credit can be "thawed" to allow you to do whatever you need to. Once you are finished, then "re-freeze" your credit. This is the foolproof method for preventing anyone from opening accounts or making purchases in your name.

Thanks for that useful info. I was unaware of that option.

Bring it on Eric. Every time you've made changes, it only got better. Thanks for all you do.

I had a quite enjoyable talk with a caller from CCH. Actually, he was one of the original employees from Caribou and a nice polite gentleman. He didn't push me on anything; only make suggestions for things that I should look at. We DID discuss 2012 and he was not defensive in any way. I told him that they need to talk to and be available to us like they used to be in Maine and he said that is one of their goals; to have more comradeship with the users of their products. He was aware of the rate at which my business has increased from year to year and had some good ideas for me to think about. No pushing, much agreement and a very pleasant conversation. I am keeping an open mind; but this is the other side of the coin. P.S. He called me.

Thank you Terry and Marilyn for the recent donations, and to everyone else who has donated. I'm looking forward to getting and installing the big upgrade in the next few months... but I'm one of those people who looks forward to big software changes--I know some of you are probably less than enthusiastic, but I'll make the transition as painless as possible

Please remember /s is our agreed on symbol for SARCASM.

I'm at the point of thinking that 'hacking' should be reclassified as a Capital crime, simply due to horrible number of victims involved!

So I should just forget the thousands of dollars in business that their incompetent programmers cost me in 2012 AND 2013? This, despite the words from them that "...making the program stable and usable for our customers..." was to be priority? Forgive me, I have been told so many fables from CCH that I do not trust their words any more. Even at the CCH forum in July, there was indifference to anyone using ATX and much attention being given to TaxWise. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me a third time and I need to be publically flogged. I have been fooled 3 times, and for my personal business, I am SERIOUSLY considering other options.

I think it is fixed. I went ahead and allowed ATX remote access. By use of the ATX Admin Console and it looked like dos commands they defragged my database. At least that is what it looked like to this vastly untrained eye. I was able to open my program and load a return at that point. To me the jury is still out because last night I went to open the program again and got the same initial message again. I rebooted my computer and it opened on the first try then. I will see more today. Hope it works correctly as I still have around 38 clients to still finish up. Six or seven still have not provided any info. What a late year it is. I have the above info and will return here if still have problems. Thanks for the assist, I truly appreciate it.

Firing the guy on the spot, in the field, is bad management no matter how one spins it. That sort of knee-jerk behavior is strictly ego-driven and counter-productive at all levels. It also breeds a culture of fear and tentativeness in the organization. It intimidates any other employees (or those to whom he bragged about it for years to come). Good people make mistakes - very good people make big mistakes. An effective manager uses these mistakes to mold them into top performers. A sloppy, lazy, insecure manager discards them, often because they are a threat to his self esteem. It's also a convenient cover-up for the manager's own lack of clear communication and follow-through. I'd more quickly buy into a philosophy of "No more mistakes and you're gone !"

KC, maybe so. There's a lot of things unknown here. But I took some things from it in my own way. I took it that he fired the person on the spot in the field. If so, I have a negative view of that approach. I also have the perception that small firms are poor in training, assume staff know and understand more than they really do. That may not be the case here. I really don't know in this particular case. I got his point, I was just thinking maybe there's a lot more to the whole story. He may have a point about the staff person's focus but if he were saying this in a Q&A lecture format, I would have a lot of pointed questions for him as well.

I would just add a new asset called "kitchen improvements" and I believe the standard life for residential rentals would apply.

If we had a sarcasm font, I'd want to suppress it. Part of the fun with sarcasm is the challlenge of figuring it out. (Well, that plus having a little private laugh when someone misses it.)