Computers are….

Computers are essential. Computers are helpful. Computers are useful. And when your computer gets a migraine, you’re in trouble and suddenly your computer is a nuisance. Your computer is dumb. Your computer is a big-time waster! And believe me, in the last several weeks that I have been down, I have thought many other non-PG things. I wonder how many computers actually get really close to the trash when this happens.

When my computer recently got the migraine right in the storage zone.  I was trying to finish some of my construction blogs when my computer started telling me I had to update my Windows 10. Truth be told I had been running short of space for quite a while, but I had been saving all my files off line so how could just programs take up so much space.  I tried to update and as I kept on trying to update, it kept telling me that I needed 8GB to do the update.  Well, when I looked at how much space I had and how much I needed, I was short by about 5GB.  I crazily tried to delete my non-essential programs, ugh.   To no avail, I could not get the needed space I needed.  So, I decided to reset my computer with help from my husband.  The reset told me I needed more space to reset.  Talk about being in a “do loop” (stuck in a loop for those who didn’t take Fortran in the 70s-80s).  Finally, we were able to download a reset program onto a flash drive.  After many hours of aches and pains we were successful.

I can’t tell you exactly what was wrong but I’m happy that my computer is well again. If I had to guess I would say it was all the crapware/bloatware that gets loaded onto the computers now-a-days.

I must confess, along the way I did almost get tricked into a scam.  You must always be careful.  I called a help number from the internet that looked like it was associated with HP.  As we talked to this guy he seemed to get more and more disrespectful and impatient with me.  He was pretty much calling me an idiot for things I had already tried, and he told me I had infected my computer with a trojan horse virus and that all devices attached to my network were infected as well.  Well this does sound frightening and I now know how easy it is to fall into a scam when they use scare tactics. By this point, it has been several weeks, so all I wanted was to have your computer working, I was desperate.  He did have a solution that would cost me $499, imagine that.  That’s when the light bulb really went on for me that something was not right with this helpline.  I disconnected immediately.  I turned off my wireless connection because now I started wonder what he had downloaded onto my computer. Be careful out there it’s a jungle of ruthless people trying to just make a buck and do harm.

I really miss my work IT people protecting me and my computer needs.  Here’s to being retired and my good friend Norton. Together with Norton, I am out on my own with all the beasts of the internet.

 

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