Crashed...Part II
So I get it, this fast pace of the computer world; but come on, in just three months time the Windows 10 on my new laptop needed 8 updates all of which took nearly 2 hours to download? Then there were the competing anti-virus programs that battled each other and told me to take one of them off; same with the malware programs. Good grief, since when did the simple open-and-start computer disappear? So now some 5 days have gone by and --after leaving the finicky new computer untouched-- I bravely opened the laptop and...it was stuck (not the lid itself but the browser); well, let's just say that it was slow enough to appear stuck. Enable this on your toolbar, it said, remove that, updates being installed (and like the Firefox malware I was locked out of overriding the install to get to the settings bar to disable the preset "auto load updates" which was checked on virtually everything, the icon continually telling me that "updates are being installed" and to wait, as if I had a choice). So another few hours go by (while the support line read "unable to connect" and the self-check diagnostic of the laptop's system passed with flying colors). Hmm, my friend owns the same brand of computer and loves it; and quite honestly, I've had this brand before and also found it rather flawless...back then. Did I just get a lemon...once again, the system starts another complete system reset (which means I can likely go to dinner, perhaps even go to sleep, and hope that the reset will be finished). When I wake in the morning, the system is 64% complete with only one question...did I want to hit F12 to reset the TPM* as well.
Now, one might think that my non-geekness was the cause of all this. And I could certainly identify with not understanding this dazzling display of dialogue: My people are split on platform. Some want to use Drupal 7 and make it work with Magento -- which is still PHP. The other option is just doing the back end in Node.js with Backbone in front." If that sounds a bit odd to you as well, then it might be worth reading the extended issue on coding that Bloomberg Businessweek did nearly 2 years ago (think of how many updates would be waiting in 2 years time!). For the average computer user (moi), the 2-hour read dumbs-down the world of algorithms, apps and more; basically it tells you that the world of computers and coding --you know, the world that runs your smartphone and refrigerator and car and our power grids-- is zooming by is likely the last train out of there (coding is now being taught in many grade schools in the U.S.). As of 2015, says the article, there were 18 million recognized coders, a number which has likely increased as quickly as Windows updates. And these are not the super-coders, the brilliant geniuses hacking into massive systems, a world of white-hats (good guys), Tor and honey pots (traps written in code) -- a world excitingly portrayed by the German series, You Are Wanted where someone such as me is hacked and has his world framed with digital fingerprints and manipulated murders conveniently placed into official files (try getting out of that one, the hackers seem to say). This is the world of the life that is now encompassing us and one which we take for granted (chip card reader on your cards, anyone).
So what the heck does all of this have to do with the average person, the ordinary guy or gal who just sends texts and checks emails and is not associated with any vast fortune or high-ranking government official. Turns out that a recent piece in Money shows the new shift in what's called ransomware. Cybercriminals have discovered that there's far easier pickings in targeting the masses instead of the uber-wealthy (similarities to governments are purely unintentional on my part). Get $400 per person times several million people and businesses and you've amassed quite a sum, done, an embarrassing crime which will go unreported. As the article says, once you agree to pay the cybercriminals they actually become quite nice and will basically leave you alone from that point...no further interest, too many other fish in the sea, time to move on. Speed is of the essence...
Being robbed may in some ways be a good thing, as with the case of being singed with a bit of malware or ransomware. When it happens, it makes you think about what you may have lost or what you should have done. Was it photos or financial data, video apps or lots and lots of contacts, did they access your home network by coming in through your unprotected, unblocked smart TV or did you not have the latest update against malicious software? All of these were things that I never considered, even as I read the countless articles to backup data daily, change passwords, and to stay vigilant. No time, who wants to, won't happen to me...same thoughts I had forever, until it happened. I was fortunate to get that tiny bit of advertising malware and having my computer crash for it forced me to enter the new world of coding and software, the changed and dazzling world of what was once so simple, a world of leave-me-be now broken into a world of understanding what globalization actually meant...my world was open to many, easily reached and easily entered and it was my responsibility to leave-it-be or to start guarding and protecting it. Times are changing and robbing a bank might be as easy as turning on a computer; the question is will that computer be your computer?
*TPM is Trusted Platform Module which encrypts many keys and entries on your keyboard or tablet, a term called secure cryptoprocessor. There are many apps and programs out there for doing all sorts of things from guarding against malware to erasing all of your session's history (well, never really erased but you get the idea). CNet and PCWorld are among the many trusted reviewers of products and software and worth checking first if you're debating whether or not to add something to your phone or laptop. For cleaning programs of your history, cookies, and registry I tend to use the free version of Glary Utilities; my antivirus program is Norton Security which I tend to like because of their automatic backup of data into their cloud (and that data can be easily retrieved)...about $39 when on sale which covers 10 devices (including mobile phones and tablets) for a year; and there are many free malware protection programs out there (Windows Defender is generally preloaded on new devices) but I tend to use the premium version of Malware Bytes, about $39 on sale for 3 devices for a year; that program checks your computer hourly and blocks any ransomware attacks (a free version is also available).
Now, one might think that my non-geekness was the cause of all this. And I could certainly identify with not understanding this dazzling display of dialogue: My people are split on platform. Some want to use Drupal 7 and make it work with Magento -- which is still PHP. The other option is just doing the back end in Node.js with Backbone in front." If that sounds a bit odd to you as well, then it might be worth reading the extended issue on coding that Bloomberg Businessweek did nearly 2 years ago (think of how many updates would be waiting in 2 years time!). For the average computer user (moi), the 2-hour read dumbs-down the world of algorithms, apps and more; basically it tells you that the world of computers and coding --you know, the world that runs your smartphone and refrigerator and car and our power grids-- is zooming by is likely the last train out of there (coding is now being taught in many grade schools in the U.S.). As of 2015, says the article, there were 18 million recognized coders, a number which has likely increased as quickly as Windows updates. And these are not the super-coders, the brilliant geniuses hacking into massive systems, a world of white-hats (good guys), Tor and honey pots (traps written in code) -- a world excitingly portrayed by the German series, You Are Wanted where someone such as me is hacked and has his world framed with digital fingerprints and manipulated murders conveniently placed into official files (try getting out of that one, the hackers seem to say). This is the world of the life that is now encompassing us and one which we take for granted (chip card reader on your cards, anyone).
So what the heck does all of this have to do with the average person, the ordinary guy or gal who just sends texts and checks emails and is not associated with any vast fortune or high-ranking government official. Turns out that a recent piece in Money shows the new shift in what's called ransomware. Cybercriminals have discovered that there's far easier pickings in targeting the masses instead of the uber-wealthy (similarities to governments are purely unintentional on my part). Get $400 per person times several million people and businesses and you've amassed quite a sum, done, an embarrassing crime which will go unreported. As the article says, once you agree to pay the cybercriminals they actually become quite nice and will basically leave you alone from that point...no further interest, too many other fish in the sea, time to move on. Speed is of the essence...
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| Graph from TIME/Money |
Being robbed may in some ways be a good thing, as with the case of being singed with a bit of malware or ransomware. When it happens, it makes you think about what you may have lost or what you should have done. Was it photos or financial data, video apps or lots and lots of contacts, did they access your home network by coming in through your unprotected, unblocked smart TV or did you not have the latest update against malicious software? All of these were things that I never considered, even as I read the countless articles to backup data daily, change passwords, and to stay vigilant. No time, who wants to, won't happen to me...same thoughts I had forever, until it happened. I was fortunate to get that tiny bit of advertising malware and having my computer crash for it forced me to enter the new world of coding and software, the changed and dazzling world of what was once so simple, a world of leave-me-be now broken into a world of understanding what globalization actually meant...my world was open to many, easily reached and easily entered and it was my responsibility to leave-it-be or to start guarding and protecting it. Times are changing and robbing a bank might be as easy as turning on a computer; the question is will that computer be your computer?
*TPM is Trusted Platform Module which encrypts many keys and entries on your keyboard or tablet, a term called secure cryptoprocessor. There are many apps and programs out there for doing all sorts of things from guarding against malware to erasing all of your session's history (well, never really erased but you get the idea). CNet and PCWorld are among the many trusted reviewers of products and software and worth checking first if you're debating whether or not to add something to your phone or laptop. For cleaning programs of your history, cookies, and registry I tend to use the free version of Glary Utilities; my antivirus program is Norton Security which I tend to like because of their automatic backup of data into their cloud (and that data can be easily retrieved)...about $39 when on sale which covers 10 devices (including mobile phones and tablets) for a year; and there are many free malware protection programs out there (Windows Defender is generally preloaded on new devices) but I tend to use the premium version of Malware Bytes, about $39 on sale for 3 devices for a year; that program checks your computer hourly and blocks any ransomware attacks (a free version is also available).
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