Sunday, March 25, 2012

Virus Venom

Thursday, I planned to go up to my project house with a friend after she was done with class. She wound up cancelling on me for a last-minute job. That was not a problem. I have made the trip with the dog a hundred (or so) times. It is a pleasant and familiar trip and the weather outside was unseasonably beautiful. I decided to leave in the morning so that I could get to the house in time to do a little work on it. Before I left, though, I just wanted to post a quick blog.

Not yet out of bed for the day, I pulled out my laptop computer, booted it up and began typing. I had about two paragraphs done when my browser shut down and an alert popped up on my screen. It said some kind of major virus had been detected and I needed to quickly download anti-virus software to remove it from my system.

Okay, well, my last computer was destroyed by a nasty virus. So I have been running anti-virus software since I bought its replacement, this computer, last June. I went to find and run my software. I could not even open it. I called the technical support hotline that came with my anti-virus software (purchased simultaneously with the computer). The technical support person answered my call very quickly. I read the error message on my screen and told her I could not open my anti-virus software. She advised me that I had contracted a virus and that I should take my computer into the store to have a technician look at it. I did so.

3 days and $201 (charged to a credit card that I will have trouble repaying) later, I gratefully return to my blog with a newly healthy computer. At the same time, I am more than a little displeased with countries that do not regulate or punish internet crimes. If I were empress of the world, I would fire them and form new countries to take their places. I would also institute stiff penalties for anyone having written or infected my computer with a virus. I am not quite sure what the penalties would be. I would probably need to employ the services of an evil genius to devise venomous enough punishments for these virus writers. I am not sure I could think up a bad enough punishment for them.

On the bright side, my computer is working again so at least I have a place to brainstorm creative penalties for those creating viruses... and I can play solitaire while I do it.

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