Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. I have a question for you: how much would you just love to meet a hacker in a dark alley and give him a pounding that he would not soon forget?
I ask this question because after much work and heartache, my laptop is finally working well once again after being a problem for nearly a month.
It all began earlier this month when I caught a virus called: System Tools 2011. It acted as if it was an antivirus program that had detected a virus. It claimed that my laptop was infected with multiple viruses. It immediately attempted to get me to go to a website which would allow me to purchase the software which would solve my problems.
Yet, the main problem was that it itself was the virus, and it was simply trying to get money out of me.
It took me three afternoon/evenings to be rid of the virus. I'm not much of a hacker myself. In fact, I love to quote Samuel L. Jackson in Jurassic Park in these areas: "PLEASE! GODDAMMIT! I HATE THIS HACKER CRAP!"
After I was rid of the virus, it took me many attempts to clean the laptop because I began to have consistency issues. I would run a scan of the machine, only to find issues, but not be able to fix them all. Just when I thought it was working perfectly, it would lock up on me or act extremely slow. It was quite frustrating.
If you have noticed how inconsistently I have been posting or commenting on the posts of others, this issue is the cause of most of this. We also had a New York City trip which began just days after the virus attack, followed by my allergies flaring up. I'm hoping to be back to my old self with regard to blogging, etc. We'll see.
For those of you who might have been like me, a bit slow to double-check the security of your machine or home network, do so. If you have yet to back up your hard drive, do that , too. I got lucky...this time. You never know what might happen, especially with how busy most of us are. For me, I work too many hours (11) and have to get up too early in the morning at 3:00 am. This gives me precious little time for blogging, Promotion and post/article writing. When I want my laptop, I don't want to worry that it might not be safe.
It is a lesson for us all.
We'll talk soon.
I ask this question because after much work and heartache, my laptop is finally working well once again after being a problem for nearly a month.
It all began earlier this month when I caught a virus called: System Tools 2011. It acted as if it was an antivirus program that had detected a virus. It claimed that my laptop was infected with multiple viruses. It immediately attempted to get me to go to a website which would allow me to purchase the software which would solve my problems.
Yet, the main problem was that it itself was the virus, and it was simply trying to get money out of me.
It took me three afternoon/evenings to be rid of the virus. I'm not much of a hacker myself. In fact, I love to quote Samuel L. Jackson in Jurassic Park in these areas: "PLEASE! GODDAMMIT! I HATE THIS HACKER CRAP!"
After I was rid of the virus, it took me many attempts to clean the laptop because I began to have consistency issues. I would run a scan of the machine, only to find issues, but not be able to fix them all. Just when I thought it was working perfectly, it would lock up on me or act extremely slow. It was quite frustrating.
If you have noticed how inconsistently I have been posting or commenting on the posts of others, this issue is the cause of most of this. We also had a New York City trip which began just days after the virus attack, followed by my allergies flaring up. I'm hoping to be back to my old self with regard to blogging, etc. We'll see.
For those of you who might have been like me, a bit slow to double-check the security of your machine or home network, do so. If you have yet to back up your hard drive, do that , too. I got lucky...this time. You never know what might happen, especially with how busy most of us are. For me, I work too many hours (11) and have to get up too early in the morning at 3:00 am. This gives me precious little time for blogging, Promotion and post/article writing. When I want my laptop, I don't want to worry that it might not be safe.
It is a lesson for us all.
We'll talk soon.
Posts
If only hackers would use their powers for good and not evil.
ReplyDelete:-(
So sorry to hear about your computer troubles. I guess it helps I married a computer geek/nerd/freak and we also raised one :)
ReplyDeleteThey make sure all our computers are protected. One less thing for me to worry about, anyway!
Thanks, Ladies.
ReplyDeleteThis was actually the second time that my trusty laptop was hit. The first time, though, I quickly checked my iPhone and found the cure. That only caused me to lose an hour.
The hope now is that my security has been updated and my home network is now secure. As long as this doesn't happen again, then it means that there was a bright side to all of this.
We'll see.
Take care and have a great week,
-Jimmy
Ugh! What a nightmare! After have virus experiences I'm now really scared of letting anyone plug their usb memory sticks into my computer -- I don't know where they've been!
ReplyDeleteYou know, Rachel. I didn't buy a Mac because I didn't want to have to familiarize myself with something that different; however, God forbid there's a next time, that's the direction I'll be heading.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stoppping by.
Have a great week!
-Jimmy
Oh no! How awful! I'm a paranoid freak about this stuff, and maybe that's a good thing. We have a MAC (thank God, because it's amazing). It cost more at the beginning, but I think it was worth it. Plus, we have an external hard drive that the MAC Time Machine backs up to every few minutes. PLUS I pay an annual fee for Carbonite.com, which backs up every time we're on the internet. I know nothing is 100% certain, but hopefully I've covered my bases. I'm glad you're back up and running.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie. Me, too. I'm definitely buying a Mac if there should ever be a next time. I'm going to be as secure as I can possibly be with regard to my laptop and home network.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week and thanks for stopping by,
-Jimmy