In a message dated 6/11/2006 8:48:03 AM Eastern Standard Time, eile@comcast.net writes: I sent it back to her so she could tell me what kind of file it is, but she cannot open it either. She lost - all - her data due to a virus from aol. She is on a pc. I am on a Mac. Is there a way to make out which kind of file it is? Paul- When you receive a genealogy file from another person it is usually in the GEDCOM format (which is a plain text format). The mistake most people make is trying to OPEN the file rather than IMPORTING the file into your genealogy program and opening it there. However, a GEDCOM file should have the .ged extention. In any case you can try to change the file name to add the .ged extention and if the file actually IS a GEDCOM format file you should be able to open your genealogy program and locate the file and open it within your genealogy program. If you can't--then you know it is a file format you cannot handle. If you wish additional information on this topic you might turn to one of the software help lists at RootsWeb--check the list index pages under OTHER to find them: http://lists.rootsweb.com . As for the person telling you they got a "virus from AOL" that would be just about impossible in that AOL scans all incoming and outgoing mail/attachments for viruses. The person may have gotten a virus but it wasn't from AOL. Joan