Off topic - Tech Woes
September 7th 2008 01:05
Category: What's Really Good For you
I've had a bit of a disastrous month technology-wise.
First I got a nasty Trojan virus either from a friend through MSN or by opening the attachment to an email purporting to be from UPS - I was expecting a parcel so didn't really think about it :/. My big-name-brand virus scanner cleaned up the MSN one. Except that it didn't, as I found out a few weeks later when my computer started to do some really strange things. The upshot of googling and forum reading was that the trojan had opened a backdoor to some others to download and install themselves, and yes, the big-name-brand virus scanenrs weren't picking them up.
In the middle of all this, just a week away from launching howtoloveyourbody.com, my 6 week old portable hard-drive died. I mean dead. It was a mechanical fault with the arm that reads the disk (apparently), and when my heart stopped trying to bash its way through my chest (yes, I did tap
), I was able to get the data recovered with medium-damage to my wallet (nearly $1200). Mostly I only needed the howtoloveyourbody folder in it, but had to pay for everything to be retrieved, no option to select just the new stuff, argh. While I waiting for my data to be recovered, I went back to the trojan situation and was able to finally clear the little bugger out using the strategy below.
Sadly Windows was a bit of a mess by then and it took hours and an eventual phone session with a really excellent Microsoft tech to get it sorted. And all this after nearly 12 years of such minimal computer problems that I can't even remember them! Post-Windows-reinstall I've had to reinstall my printer, scanner, ITunes and I'm sure repair more software as I find I can't use it, just a monumental enormous waste of time.
The reason I'm telling you this is to suggest a strategy you might like to follow:
1. Don't accept jpgs from friends on msn, unless you talk to them first! Cancel the file request until you can talk to them.
2. Don't open any emails that purport to be from FexEd or UPS
2. Get Trojan Remover. Install and run it, and let it clean up anything it finds. I used the free version, it did a great cleanup, but I think I will register it, I want the protection! Then do the next step.
3. get ESET Nod32, it's *the* best anti-virus, confirmed by the really excellent Microsoft tech, and comes with a free trial, which cleaned up my problem. I have since registered it. And it's Australian! I've uninstalled my big-brand-name antivirus, there's almost nothing on their site about the UPS mess, and certainly it wasn't there when I needed it!
4. get a data backup strategy in place. The one I settled on is called GoodSync, and it also comes with a free trial! I do love software that you can try-before-you-buy, saves it gathering dust in my cupboard when I decide I don't like it! Actually now I look at the website again, there's a permanent free version, with fewer features obviously, but it keeps your hard disk and your backup synchronised with one another, so they're both always current. My six week old backup cost me $1200
A one day old one would have been a real walletsaver!
First I got a nasty Trojan virus either from a friend through MSN or by opening the attachment to an email purporting to be from UPS - I was expecting a parcel so didn't really think about it :/. My big-name-brand virus scanner cleaned up the MSN one. Except that it didn't, as I found out a few weeks later when my computer started to do some really strange things. The upshot of googling and forum reading was that the trojan had opened a backdoor to some others to download and install themselves, and yes, the big-name-brand virus scanenrs weren't picking them up.
In the middle of all this, just a week away from launching howtoloveyourbody.com, my 6 week old portable hard-drive died. I mean dead. It was a mechanical fault with the arm that reads the disk (apparently), and when my heart stopped trying to bash its way through my chest (yes, I did tap
), I was able to get the data recovered with medium-damage to my wallet (nearly $1200). Mostly I only needed the howtoloveyourbody folder in it, but had to pay for everything to be retrieved, no option to select just the new stuff, argh. While I waiting for my data to be recovered, I went back to the trojan situation and was able to finally clear the little bugger out using the strategy below. Sadly Windows was a bit of a mess by then and it took hours and an eventual phone session with a really excellent Microsoft tech to get it sorted. And all this after nearly 12 years of such minimal computer problems that I can't even remember them! Post-Windows-reinstall I've had to reinstall my printer, scanner, ITunes and I'm sure repair more software as I find I can't use it, just a monumental enormous waste of time.
The reason I'm telling you this is to suggest a strategy you might like to follow:
1. Don't accept jpgs from friends on msn, unless you talk to them first! Cancel the file request until you can talk to them.
2. Don't open any emails that purport to be from FexEd or UPS
2. Get Trojan Remover. Install and run it, and let it clean up anything it finds. I used the free version, it did a great cleanup, but I think I will register it, I want the protection! Then do the next step.
3. get ESET Nod32, it's *the* best anti-virus, confirmed by the really excellent Microsoft tech, and comes with a free trial, which cleaned up my problem. I have since registered it. And it's Australian! I've uninstalled my big-brand-name antivirus, there's almost nothing on their site about the UPS mess, and certainly it wasn't there when I needed it!
4. get a data backup strategy in place. The one I settled on is called GoodSync, and it also comes with a free trial! I do love software that you can try-before-you-buy, saves it gathering dust in my cupboard when I decide I don't like it! Actually now I look at the website again, there's a permanent free version, with fewer features obviously, but it keeps your hard disk and your backup synchronised with one another, so they're both always current. My six week old backup cost me $1200
A one day old one would have been a real walletsaver!| 60 |
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