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June 30, 2010
Going viral
Lori's computer gets a virus, originally uploaded by Ray Cunningham.
I had a terrible thing happen to me the other day. My computer at work somehow caught a virus, and it was an insidious little thing. It refused to let me start any new programs, while attempting to trick me to pay $40 for a piece of anti-virus software. Yes, the virus that masquerades as anti-virus software trick. Sorry smart guy, that one doesn't work on me. Fortunately, I think I was able to disable and then remove the thing - either that, or it is silently biding its time until it can strike again. Maybe like that ridiculous Michaelangelo virus from eons ago.
My relief at not having to tell my boss that my work computer was infected with a virus quickly evaporated when I realized that the server had locked me out of the network. My computer was essentially banned from the internet. Oh hell. Despite all kinds of tricks, I could not get my computer back up and running. I knew I'd have to face the music.
So, the next day when I casually mentioned it, I feared the worst. Luckily, he seemed mellow about it, but I still felt shame. Here's why: computers get viruses, usually, because the user of the computer is doing something silly. Surfing for porn. Downloading ringtones. Maybe even pirating software. That's the sort of place your computer gets infected - not, say, looking up Supreme Court decisions.
Now, I am not stupid enough to look at porn on a work computer (a lesson some people could learn), and I really have no idea what I did to get my computer infected. However, I know that back in my computer-fixing days, whenever somebody would call me over to show me all the spyware on their computer, I always silently judged them for looking at porn at work. (Yes, I'm judgmental, and no I don't think every one of them was doing that.)
Finding out your computer has a virus must be like the doctor telling you you have an STD. If you get STD's for putting certain things where they shouldn't be, you get computer viruses for taking your computer to places it probably shouldn't be, even if you really thought it was completely harmless and there is no way it could happen to you, and oh God what's that itching? Not that I know personally.
entry no. 1479
Posted at June 30, 2010 02:14 PM