What is this file that keeps appearing in My Computer, occasionally the Desktop, which is simply named " ~ "? The properties give no file type and the latest is 178kb in size. It seems to happen when I've been online. Am using IE6 with latest updates. If I open it with Word, in between all the gobbledegook I can see it appears to be a segmented list of my outgoing e-mails, can't read any messages but all the addresses are listed. Is it some artifact of Windows/the browser that I don't need to worry about, and just delete, or is it suspicious?

It is safe to delete it. You will probably find another 'tilde' file in your root directory. It is a Micro$oft glitch that happens everytime your Outlook Express address book is updated. Look at it as a friend (?) because if you see it there and you haven't updated you adresses then someone else has. HTH Dog

For further information the"~" is a tilde and is used in Spanish over the letter "n" to indicate the sound "ny". Adios!