I just noticed, and I mean really noticed, how long it's been since my last blog post on Monday. I have a few drafts saved that I started & never finished, and some scraps of paper with ideas doodled on it, but that's about it. There is a long version and a short version to all this, & I am going to give you both. Some of you aren't into detail, so I give you the short version:
A link was clicked on.
The link didn't show what it said it would show.
I got duped by a hacker.
It totally violated my personal territory, and left me feeling small, stupid, and mad.
My poor computer was taken to a repair shop & wiped clean.
Now, it's all better.
The end.
Now, if you're satisfied without that just that, your welcome, but, if you want to know the nitty-gritty... here's the long version:
My husband was on Facebook, and clicked on a link that a friend of his had posted. It was one of those funny videos that guys seem to appreciate the most. On the sidebar were several links to other videos. I don't even remember what it was, just another video that he thought it would be worth watching. I was in the other room when he hollered for me. When I came in, there was a white screen flashing "WARNING!!" in bright red letters, and even though that seemed sort of weird, the more official box that popped up, looking like and claiming to be from Microsoft looked real, and it told me that I needed to contact them right away & that my computer was infected with a virus.
So, I called them.
The man who answered the phone had a very heavy accent, which doesn't really matter, but was something that stuck with me. And his partner's voice in the background, too. I don't know why, but I will always remember them.
He told me to go to a website, had me download a program, and then he walked me through everything that was happening (only, at the time, I didn't realize that he was the one making those things happen). He had access to my computer now and talked to me soothingly as he pointed out the different security features that were turning off before my eyes. Then he jabbed me with a spear of panic as he asked how I used my computer, saying "oh no!" at just the right moments. This cycle repeated, and he had me hooked completely.
What he didn't realize, is that even though I have this little girl voice, it's the same voice that's been warning people for years, "Don't click on that!" or "Watch out for _______" and it didn't belong to an idiot. Even though, I really did fall pretty hard off the Smart Wagon... I still can't believe I actually downloaded that program! But, I am 100% certain that if they would have called me with this same setup, like they have to many other people in the past, I wouldn't have fallen for it. It was that stupid, Microsoft looking box that got me.
Anyway..
Maybe he became overconfident. Maybe it was my naive little voice, but his compassionate voice began to fade and he asked me how much I was willing to spend on their services to clean up my computer. I started to waver a bit trying to think of how to get out of this, because it all hit me like a ton of bricks that I had given someone without a conscience access to this... vault of me. I do so much online and I gave this moron access to it?! While he was rambling off numbers, I was unplugging my computer from the wall and modem, and hanging up on him.
He called me right back. "My apologies, we seem to have lost connection." That's when I informed him that his services were out of my price range and that we'd be taking our computer somewhere else. I kid you not, his voice sounded evil when he said, "Take it where?" My answer, "Uhhh I don't know, but not to you!" *click*
Of course that wasn't the last that we'd heard from them. They couldn't reach us online because our computer was being worked on, but they still had the nerve to call us. The first guy to call us was the hacker. I listened to him for about a minute before I hung up on him. A week later his partner called. He tried to tell me something was wrong with my computer and I was like "Really?" (this is were a sarcasm font would come in handy) and he went on with his yes, ma'am and gave a blah blah blah speech, telling me how there was a virus on my computer, only for me to say, "No, there isn't." "There isn't?" "No, I don't think there is!" *cue defeated sigh* "Have a nice day ma'am." *click*
My sweet husband won't admit that it affected him, too. He wouldn't get on the computer for months, and I really didn't feel inclined to leave my thoughts online for awhile. Blogging exposes you. It feels great to get it off your chest, and it's way cheaper than therapy, but it's public. It's out there for anyone to read. I guess I felt like I'd already been exposed enough.
Well, that is both the long and the short of it. May you never have to go through it!
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