Adventures with spyware

[wiseheart]

I've been grumbling for days at poor Yahoo for being slooooooow. And at poor Hotmail for not working. And at poor InvisionFree for being sluggish. And at poor LJ for not letting me post properly. And... you get the picture.


Now, today things turned so bad that I contacted my Net provider. They checked my cable modem. It was okay. They suggested I might have spyware on my PC. And that I should get some nice programme that would kill it.

Now, I'm virtually computer illiterate, meaning I'd never be able to do something like that alone. So I gathered all my nonexistent courage and went to Neighbour Guy, who's a self-made computer wiz. Alas, a very unfriendly one, who thinks all people who don't eat and drink and breathe computers are idiots.

He wasn't happy to see me. He never is. But he came over and hunted down the 10 different spyware programmes on my PC and installed a firewall (why he hadn't done so right at the beginnig when he built the PC in the first place I don't know, but better late than never, right?). So it seems that things are working all right again, and I'm immensely relieved.

But it's not pleasant to be so helpless. I wish someone had the patience to sit down with me and show me how these things are done. I'm not an idiot, I'm just inexperienced. Hell, I learned how to fill in secondary school application forms for my kids in about twelve minutes! And it was an experimental programme. I could learn this. But I'm not the sort of self-made genius who could figure out things without being shown the ropes. Plus, I'm always afraid of making things worse.

Unfortunately, people who know how these things are done, never have the time and/or the patience to show it lesser beings like my not-so-humble self. :((

Ah, well, at least my PC is working again.

Comments

[jilba.livejournal.com]

Yes, at least the computer is running again, and yes, whoever builds a computer these days should install anti virus software and a firewall as matter of course.

Still, it's done now!

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

I wish someone had the patience to sit down with me and show me how these things are done.

The problem when it comes to removing spyware is that there is no one single way it's done; every spyware program is unique, and has to be removed in a different fashion (and some of them require some serious rooting about in the OS to clean them out!). It's much better to keep the stuff off in the first place.

Your neighbor could show you how to install and configure the firewall easily enough - but now that he's done it, there's really no need to. Anyway, I'm glad your PC is running well again!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I wasn't speaking about firewall installation. I was speaking about this computer business in general. I'm so horribly dependant on people who actually understand something about it that it's not even funny. :((

I wish they'd make a computer course for idiots somewhere in education. They organize seminars in everything we do not need and in nothing we could actually use.

[skyfiery.livejournal.com]

I'm using a firewall and a few spyware-destroyers that work pretty well for me, considering I'm a basic user. If you need, I'll send you the links for them.

*hugs*

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Case, but I'd never dare to do anything without someone who knows what s/he is doing looking ove my shoulder. I'm too afraid I'd cause more damage.