Today is the day I've installed two spy ware programs to search out and destroy that which is trying to hijack my computer. I've wasted several hours of time, when my time could be better spent on accomplishing something productive. Earning money is productive. This is not.
Between the virus scanner and the spy ware finders, my computer is now loaded to prevent my browser from being hijacked. It's only a temporary condition, this euphoric feeling of safety. Some virtual child is, at this very moment, experimenting with malicious mischief, is using coding know how for evil purposes rather than beneficial ones.
I suppose it's kind of like Mischief Night, the night before Halloween, when we threw eggs at cars and painted houses with graffiti. We were wrong to do that and we weren't thinking about the consequences. I'm not talking about whether or not we'd get caught. We never thought about the expense the home and car owners would have to pay when they awakened the next morning. It didn't occur to us their day would be ruined, their time would be occupied with phone calls to the auto paint shop or the house painter or whomever had to fix what we broke.
Granted, I'm giving an example which only involved a few victims at a time. These days, with computers and Internet access, the amount of populace affected is in the millions. All with one fluid motion called 'send', viruses are sent via email. Code embedded into html pages carry viruses and spy ware. There is danger everywhere, Will Robinson; and, no matter how computer savvy you are, no matter how many preventative programs you install, every time you boot, you're at risk for something.
After 9/11, I was bitten by NIMDA, hours before McAfee or Norton knew about it. We were all in mourning. We were looking for connections with humanity after this great disaster. The fabric of our lives changed that day, so each and every message board was sharing mail and files. Because we are somewhat isolated from the real world, as we busily make our way around this Internet business, the sharing was comforting. Unfortunately, not everyone felt the love. NIMDA came to my house from one of these heart rending pages and ran through three of my servers before I could pull the networking plugs. It was a nightmare for my business. Thankfully, we didn't lose anything; but, the three or four days cost us time and money. I'm pretty sure the ones who wrote the code to infect my computers didn't care one whit.
Since then, I've been fairly careful. My virus scanner is always on patrol, looking at everything I do, scanning my emails. I no longer open emails nor do I accept attachments, unless the person sending me an attachment has proven themselves worthy. It sounds harsh and it is. I can't afford the time to recover my data from these worms and viruses.
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Until today.
Today, my browser was attacked and my home page was changed without my knowledge or consent. At this moment in time, I now have a virus scanner and two spy ware 'search and destroy' programs. I've resisted certain firewall protections, other than my DSL router, because I am a marketing consultant. I need to see the pop ups, the pop unders, the stealth consoles and all of the other clever advertising techniques currently in play. Firewalls prevent such advertising. If I am no longer able to see these methods, I cannot evaluate them for viability with my clients. I can neither recommend nor vilify. My computer is under siege because some clever bloke came up with a program to silently download in the background, waiting for the moment to take over my computer.
I am hoping I survive this day because I do have work to get finished before I go to bed. I have no ICQ at the moment, which is my connection to the universe of webmasters all over the world. There is no chance for me to set up a potential money making plan because I am too busy protecting my computer and my network from vicious attacks.
I've studied human behaviours for many years. I know what drives them to commit these acts. Most people believe they do it for the attention; and, to some degree, that's true. I personally believe they do it because they can. It's all about power and control. Imagine, if you will, one single person, having the power to disable communications for entire global networks. Just one individual could bring the world to its knees with one malicious piece of code, either downloading silently when you're not looking or attaching parasitically to the email you accept or the html pages you view. It's mind boggling to consider the consequences and it's a losing war.
As long as there are juvenile delinquents, there will be attacks. As long as there are companies who believe in the hit and run theory of making money, there will be spy ware. The days of feeling safe on our computers, if ever there was any safety, are over. Forever.
It's a sad day for me, in a way. I held onto my delusions far longer than anyone else did, I believe. I must confess that I don't view the Internet with quite the same enthusiasm I used to have when I was an ignorant surfer. There's something to be said for naiveté and ignorance, even though what you don't know can and will hurt you. There are times when I long for those idyllic computer sessions, happily surfing, no worries.
Reality, however, has reared its head and I am fortifying my precious instrument with every weapon I can find to counter-attack, to prevent. Anything to keep my Internet travels safe.