There are better ways to spend a morning
Jun. 14th, 2011 12:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carbonelThis morning, my computer had a new icon in the taskbar. It produced a balloon that said my computer was at risk, and started popping up warning notices all over the place, even though I hadn't clicked on anything. Clearly I'd been infested by scareware/ransomware, though I have no idea how.
I tried to download a current set of antivirus definitions, and the process was blocked by the virus. I keep my antivirus definitions up to date, but the actual software is probably outdated. I gave up on trying to fix the problem at my end, and paid $90 to McAfee for a virtual technician. (That's what they call it; in fact, it's a real technician who takes over your computer and fixes the problem remotely.) It was fascinating to watch my computer doing things by itself, like a player piano. And I lost a lot less time doing it this way than I would have by hauling my computer over to the Geek Squad, the way I did the last time this happened. (That time, I know what caused it -- I clicked on a toxic link.)
I also bought a three-year subscription for McAfee's latest and greatest total protection suite, which is probably overkill, but was only $5/year more than the regular package. Unfortunately, it didn't want to download and install cleanly, which necessitated another session with tech support, and another hour or so wasted.
All in all, I didn't get really functional until well after noon. And Monday is always a busy day. After a couple of hours' overtime today, and a serious slog tomorrow, I should be caught up. But really, if it had to happen, I would have preferred it to happen during one of the slack times. And I still wish I know how it got through in the first place.
I tried to download a current set of antivirus definitions, and the process was blocked by the virus. I keep my antivirus definitions up to date, but the actual software is probably outdated. I gave up on trying to fix the problem at my end, and paid $90 to McAfee for a virtual technician. (That's what they call it; in fact, it's a real technician who takes over your computer and fixes the problem remotely.) It was fascinating to watch my computer doing things by itself, like a player piano. And I lost a lot less time doing it this way than I would have by hauling my computer over to the Geek Squad, the way I did the last time this happened. (That time, I know what caused it -- I clicked on a toxic link.)
I also bought a three-year subscription for McAfee's latest and greatest total protection suite, which is probably overkill, but was only $5/year more than the regular package. Unfortunately, it didn't want to download and install cleanly, which necessitated another session with tech support, and another hour or so wasted.
All in all, I didn't get really functional until well after noon. And Monday is always a busy day. After a couple of hours' overtime today, and a serious slog tomorrow, I should be caught up. But really, if it had to happen, I would have preferred it to happen during one of the slack times. And I still wish I know how it got through in the first place.
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McAffee
Date: 2011-06-14 10:01 am (UTC)You might also try: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security_essentials/default.aspx
no subject
Date: 2011-06-14 01:35 pm (UTC)