persephone33: (Wavy carrie)
persephone33 ([personal profile] persephone33) wrote2007-07-31 02:28 pm
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Like a Bunny!

Twenty-four hours and $162 later, my computer is back and better than ever. (You didn't even have time to miss me, did you?)  It's so FAST!    My personal settings are gone, like the Gmail notifier and the Google taskbar, but I'll live.  I have a new firewall, and 'Spybot - Search and Destroy', which makes me feel all powerful.  I had several viruses and massive amounts of spyware.  Where does all that crap come from?

I did get called back for last night, but I'm not holding my breath.  Twenty plus additional people were there, and I did NOT sing as well as they did.  But, I'm not a singer.  Never claimed to be... and I'm okay with that.  I did sweep the cold readings, if I do say so myself, but they were looking for solid vocal talent, and that ain't me.  I may costume the show instead and get paid lots, LOTS more.  :)  Thanks for all the good thoughts and support, sweet f-list.  I really do appreciate it!

[identity profile] sue-bridehead.livejournal.com 2007-07-31 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Where does all that crap come from?

From computer programmers who will all be in hell together someday, along with those annoying jerks who write viruses. Now that you've got Search and Destroy (I love that program!), you're probably going to be just fine from here on. The Geek Squad (or whoever fixed your PC) probably told you not to click on anything you didn't request. If it says OK or Cancel, I always just close the window with the X in the corner. That way, you're not responding to the message and are less likely to download anything you don't intend to.

Yay for making callbacks!

[identity profile] lyndsiefenele.livejournal.com 2007-07-31 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
I got hacked once. Now I know a lot about internet security. Okay, not a whole lot compared to professionals, but a decent amount. I also recommend Adaware. Mainly because depending on the settings, you could accidentally delete things you didn't mean to with Spybot - though that prejudice come from several years ago and they've probably changed the software since. Both Spybot S&D and Adaware are free, and both work well. Just a note: Spybot isn't a firewall. It's not preventative. It will clean up stuff that ends up on your computer, but it does not stop it from getting there in the first place. (At least, not the last time I checked, but I also don't have it on this computer.)

Actually, I wrote a series of posts on this subject available here: http://forums.dracoandginny.com/index.php?topic=748.0

Costuming is fun! I can sew, too, and I used to help make stuff for Halloween and ren faires.

[identity profile] sue-bridehead.livejournal.com 2007-07-31 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
You're right, Lyndsie. Spybot doesn't prevent problems, but it's a good tool to find and remove them. I use both Spybot and Adaware, and they keep my system pretty clean. (My PC is a bit slow at times, but I think that's because my Outlook is always open.)