Just Because you Are Invisible Doesn’t mean You are Safe…Yet

Hi Everyone!It’s so nice to finally be back. Had to take somewhat of an impromptu vacation. I got this huge virus and lost about three years worth of work in a matter of hours. Then I got sick again (a little medical mishap-nothing to worry about anymore) but I am back-and here to stay for good. With that said, let me reiterate a few things before I go on with today’s post.

So, if you are here reading something and it catches your eye and starts you thinking about someone you know, maybe you or a friend, who is going through what I write about, just know that you (or your friend) are not alone. Know that there is at least one other person in this world who has been there, done that-and I lived to tell the tale.

What do You Mean I Gave You Something?
Well, whether you got something from a lover, or you got something from rummaging around on one of those not so well, um-you know… Those not so reputable sites some people are addicted to. Chances are you’ve had something in your life, It is a real controversial, subject, I know. But what I am talking about can save you weeks-or even months-of horror later. I am talking about a virus. What did you think? Oh-that! No no no no no… on your computer! What did you think I was talking about? Oh, OK… I know, I know… But how else was I supposed to grab your attention?

The Unexpected Scam
Computer virus are probably THE single most important you need to guard against when surfing the internet for any reason. While I know some people think I would have said Internet scams, or something to that effect, those scammers can’t get to you if you are offline cause of a virus! In a way, some scammers actually use the antivirus warnings to use it against others… When they want some hits to their site, they will program a virus to pop up saying that you need protection, and to buy the full version of whatever it is that has infected your computer. They make you click on the virus and it takes you to their site, so you can buy their product. The problem is, you don’t know it’s a virus because it looks legit. It actually looks like a security program to buy!

I know some people who have gone to “reputable” sites looking to buy antivirus programs, just to get an infection from the antivirus site itself! But to be honest with you, not a lot of people realize that just because it says “Anti-Virus” or “Anti-Malware” that it could in fact actually be harmful. Yes, there are people out there who try to get you to buy their anti-virus product-just to sue it to steal your money or your information. And a lot of these lurk on adult sites. Please, if you are going to surf any site, have protection installed first.

Always Be Honest-In Any Situation!
Which is why when you are dating online, you simply must have the best antivirus protection available. Some of the worms, Trojans and other infections that can get into your system hang out mainly on those sites-yes those sites, the ones everyone is embarrassed they visited. Or they are at least embarrassed to admit they visited (look guy-I’m an IT tech. I can see what you wrote to your mother 10 years ago if I wanted to-of course I know how many hours you spent on that site you don’t want your wife to know about. How do you think you got that virus anyway?). So when a virus pops up, they claim they have no idea where it came form. But let me tell you something. Certain viruses need a certain antivirus arsenal to fight against it. Not all are equal. Meaning, I need to know what you were doing to know what virus it is to know how to fight it. Period. Otherwise, I might not be able to do anything about it.

What I mean to say, the number one thing you can do is be honest. Always, in any situation. If you happen to be rummaging around on a website-no matter which one-and you get a virus, the only way to fight it is if you already have Anti-Virus or anti-malware protection installed that would have caught it before it could do any damage. Because if you didn’t have prior protection, then, depending on what got into the system, there might be nothing you, or an experienced IT tech can do about it. So please, in the name of everyone you could potentially infect on the Web, get yourself a good security program.

Go Protect Yourself Today!
I recommend McAfee, or Anything from Norton (Symantec) or Panda. They are great, really, I know I have used them and they saves my ass a few times. But, if you are not in the market and/or don’t have the ability to pay for a program, some great free ones are Avira’s AntiVir, or AVG. I use Avira now, and used their rescue program that boots form a command line based program and was able to fight the Trojan off, a little bit anyway. While I still had to reformat my hard drive and reinstall the operating system, I was able to save at least some of my work… Not much but some is better than nothing, right?

My Mistake can be Your Gain
Because I didn’t have antivirus to begin with, I lost almost all my work from the last three years-Me, and IT tech, I should know better than to go unprotected, right? And I did know better-now I am paying for it. Which is why I wanted to make this my first post now that I am back up and running. To make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else-ever.

So, Please! Get one of these programs, and you should be OK. Because those dating and adult sites, for the most part, are safe, but once in a while, you will get an a**hole who unleashes something because they think ti is funny or they were wronged by some one and want to avenge whatever it was that happened to them, whatever it is-and you are left having to pick up the pieces a few weeks later after not knowing what hit you, or your computer.

Now, before I go, I must make an admission. I don not only write here… I am an IT tech, and an IT writer in my “real world” time. While, yes I write about dating, and passionately, as I have so much to say about dating and the online dating world, I make most of my living writing about technology-and fixing computers. So, please do go off thinking “What the Hell does a writer about dating have to say to me about my computer?” Believe me, I have a lot to say, and it may one day help you. While i am passionate about my writing here on this site, i am an IT tech too… First an d foremost an IT writer. Think about that before you go of in a storm thinking I don’t know what i am talking about. Please. I am only here in the best interest of my readers, that I promise!