The Tangled Web We Weave

I was temporarily forced back to the days before email, or reading the paper on-line or checking my bank account with a few simple clicks. It was a strange land that I barely remember. It was slower, with less noise and suddenly I had all the time in the world on my hands.

I’d decided I was finally going to get organized and downloaded an older version of Quickbooks. It asked me to turn off the virus protection because it was interfering with the download, so I did. And then I went along my merry way working and taking phone calls, answering emails and running around on the web.
I don’t think I turned off the computer that night, so the next morning I hopped on board and continued my mission to unknowingly leave my pc completely vulnerable.

I noticed things were running more slowly. Web pages were taking longer to download but there was no warning from my anti-virus program. I assumed the drag was from all the pictures I store on here and threw some of them on discs and carried on.

The night I went to log on for the American Idol shout-out I couldn’t get on here. I had to shut the pc down and start over. Fortunately, it let me on and I was able to watch it with you, which was fun. Things went down hill from there and after running some scans I knew I had a huge problem but my virus protection couldn’t repair them. It was too deep in the guts of my computer. It was luck or a fluke that I was able to post ‘Co-Ed Laundry Mats’ before all hell broke lose and I could no longer use my computer. I even pulled the battery out because paranoia set in and I started to think the destruction could be sent through air waves targeting nothing but my pc.

I spent Friday night and the entire weekend with someone who tried everything they could to undo the damage without losing my data and I’m completely grateful for their time and efforts. A huge shout-out to S. I could’ve never done what they do and it hurts my brain to even think about it. And about those back-up files? What back-up files?

I had nothing backed-up, even though I use this pc for work as well as personal stuff.

A back-up was made from the corrupt files but cannot be accessed. We’re trying to find a program that’ll clean a corrupted file. I now have a restored computer but cannot access any email addresses and documents, which means all of my passwords are locked away. Isn’t it brilliant to keep all your passwords in a pc that has no back-up? I’m a winner. *Nods.*

What was most interesting about this experience was not losing material things, but the emotions that went along with it. At first I was most concerned about my documents and sad for all the stuff I’d written that was now gone forever. And then it was the emails of encouragement, the shared laughs, the ones from family and the ones that said, “I love you.” In the end, it was the pictures that I grieved most as I realized those memories were gone, except that which was in my mind. Remarkably, some pictures were able to be saved but they’re not the ones I would‘ve chosen.

I never realized how much of my life is neatly compressed in the digital world.

And then I thought about the bastards that spend their days creating these things that crawl around looking to invade your little world, steal your identity, your bank account numbers, your precious memories and anything else they want.

They spin a web, leaving you in bondage, and unable to move until they attack at their leisure. I wonder what kind of person does that. It’s a high-class thief who no longer wears a black mask, but a button-up shirt and khaki’s and sits at a desk. It’s a person who‘s job is based on greed, yet with a respectable job title (i.e., IT) and probably has benefits. How things have changed.

I’m lucky I didn’t have to spend several hundred dollars on a new computer, although it doesn’t work like it used to. The web is a wonderful place full of resources, but it’s also full of danger waiting to seek and destroy you if you let it. I turned off my virus protection and forgot to turn it back on and I had nothing backed up. Tonight I am ordering an external hard drive and trust me, I’ll never let that happen again. You can count on it.

I don't speak computer so I hope this made sense.

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