Virus

Ugh... last night my laptop got infected with a virus.  

I was poking around the internet and all the sudden a weird screen flashed on for a mili-second, and then I got this bogus screen saying something about the FBI was watching my computer because of possible copyright infringement, child pornography, or some other fake reasons.  

I pressed the escape key and every other key in an effort to free up my computer but it didn't work.  I couldn't reboot, restart, or even power down the normal way.  I pushed and held the power button until the laptop shut off.  When I restarted it I got the same bogus FBI screen.

So I had to take it to the repair shop today.  I begged and pleaded with them to rush it since the thought of being without a computer at home is frightening to me in all honesty, but from my explanation of the issue they doubted they would have it done today.

So I will cross my fingers they will be able to fix it tomorrow and that it won't cost too much.

Virus

OMG - I accidentally downloaded a virus!

I was working on something on my laptop when all the sudden a pop-up window notified me that my computer had been infected with a virus and several trojans. I was instructed to 'click here' to scan my system and remove the virus and trojans, so I did. As soon as I did it I knew it was a mistake. But I'd been working on something and didn't really pay full attention to the notification.

Next thing I knew my system was overtaken by the "Security Guard" virus. Every time I clicked on anything I got a pop-up window telling me that a particular file was infected and I was prompted to scan my system, only the scan costs $79.95 or something. I couldn't open any photos or documents stored on my hard drive, and the pop-up notification windows wouldn't stop.

I tried my best to locate the Security Guard file on my computer so I could uninstall it, but of course as with most viruses, the files can not be found, uninstalled or deleted. So I put out an S.O.S. on facebook and Googled "Security Guard virus" to try and get some help. Unfortunately none of the advice worked.

My friend Steven offered to take a look at my laptop so I met him at a local lunch spot. He also tried several things, but each one was blocked or aborted by the virus. I felt an equal amount of frustration at myself for falling for that fake virus scam and frustration that my laptop appeared to be unfixable.

So I took my laptop to a local computer place where a friend of mine works. I explained to her what had happened and the name of the virus. Fortunately she was well aware of it and said she knew how to remove the virus so I left my laptop in her care.

She'll call me tomorrow when the virus has been eradicated.

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

Spouse continues to amaze me with this Weight Watchers determination. Despite having been on the cruise for a week with all that amazing food, Spouse still managed to lose 2.4 lbs when he weighed in last night! Who goes on a cruise and loses weight?!?! I guess it didn't hurt that after returning from the cruise he ate soup for lunch and salad for dinner for 4 days. But still...

I've been missing Pouncer since we returned home. Spouse got rid of his litter box before we left, but his cute little ceramic food bowl (which I washed) is sitting on the counter next to the kitchen sink. At this point I don't have the heart to put it away just yet. He really was a special guy.

Today I learned that our Thanksgiving plans have been turned completely upside down! Spouse's family usually comes here for Thanksgiving, and we do most of the cooking. But due to a couple of extenuating circumstances, they can't come so we are traveling back to VA instead. This could actually turn out much better for us, now that I think of it. Usually I have to clean the house from top to bottom before they arrive, continue cleaning while they're here, and then wash 4 or 5 sets of sheets and 6 sets of towels and clean the house again after they leave. Having Thanksgiving at Spouse's mom's house means I don't have to clean the house or do all that laundry! Score!!! But the best part about it is that my aunt Mary will be able to join us. It will feel more like the Thanksgivings we used to have when we lived in VA with my aunt there.

Back in the spring I pre-ordered Armistead Maupin's new book "Mary Ann in Autumn" from Amazon. Its the latest in his "Tales of the City" series. Unfortunately it didn't arrive prior to our cruise as I had hoped, but it was waiting for me when we returned. I love Maupin's writing and find it very easy to read and get caught up. I really hate to finish his books so I try to ration my reading to prevent me from finishing too quickly. I started reading the newest book this week and have already read 1/2 of it! Yikes - I can't control myself. In case you hadn't guessed, this blog is named after Maupin's famous series.

My new laptop arrived today. For years now I'd been using my work laptop for personal computing, since our dinosaur of a desktop is practically non-functional. But since I have to ship my work laptop back to my former employer, Spouse & I agreed I should get a new laptop. We found a terrific deal on HSN, ordered it on Mon night, and it arrived today. I'm using it right now... can you tell?

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thoroughly modern

When I became a remote employee I was given a used, dinosaur of a laptop but quickly found that I could not load my ISP's software onto it because it didn't have a CD drive. That rendered the laptop pretty much useless to me. Since I connect to a central computer via remote desktop, I simply did so with my home computer. I like it because it has a 17" flat screen monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse. I am a BIG right-mouse-click copy/paste person so I really like using a mouse.

A month or so ago I fired up the dinosaur and pushed the wireless button, just for kicks. To my surprise, there were 2 unsecured wireless signals within reach. I clicked on one and BAM!! I was surfing the internet wirelessly on the dinosaur. Spouse was particularly happy about this, since imagined himself walking around the house with the laptop, able to look up anything he wanted, from any room in the house, or even out on the porch. (FYI - he'll never do this.)

The next day I fired up the dinosaur again and got one of those Microsoft update pages, so I clicked to accept the update. A while later it advised me to reboot the computer for the update to take effect. I'd done this several times before with my home computer so it didn't alarm me.

Unfortunately, after rebooting, the laptop gave me some funky message about not being able to find some necessary driver or some such cryptic information that tells the average person absolutely nothing. Despite rebooting it again, I could not get the darned thing to load.
So last Wed when I spent part of the day in Reston VA for that business meeting, I took the dinosaur with me, in hopes of either getting the IT guy to fix it, or exchanging it for a better one. The cyber gods must have been smiling on me! After explaining to the IT guy that I can't actually use the laptop without the CD drive, and what happened after the Microsoft update, the IT guy suggested trading in the dinosaur for a new (used) laptop, and I didn't even pretend to resist.

So now I have a faster, more modern laptop with a CD drive and a larger screen. Oh, and I even have a laptop case to store it in, unlike the dinosaur which I carried around in an old, sweaty duffel bag. The new laptop has Vista and I am used to XP, so it is taking me a bit to 'find' everything.

A few nights ago I took the laptop upstairs to the TV room and was reading blogs and sort of halfway watching TV when Spouse came upstairs to join me. He said "Well, look at you, thoroughly modern Millie!"

Its true, I do feel so much more modern with this new laptop. I can watch TV and read blogs at the same time. I can carry it around the house if I want to, like a thoroughly modern person!

I can't wait for the next time I'm going to cook or bake something from a recipe. Instead of printing the recipe, I'll just read it off the laptop - right there in the kitchen! Thoroughly modern indeed.

But likely the best part about the new laptop? Now Spouse & I can both use a computer simultaneously. No more fighting for the internet. He can surf the net using the desktop and cable internet while I read blogs on the laptop and wireless connection.

Domestic bliss has been restored.

Crush du Jour: Sean Maguire