Deep breath. Why, oh why is it so frustrating and darn-right hard to get back into the swing of things (again) after being forced to manage without my laptop? I know, it’s not the end of the world, far worse things happen at sea (especially if the computer crashes I would imagine, ha!) but still, I know that you will commiserate with me.
Focusing on the good points, although I still have a broken touchpad and have to keep using a mouse (which rather defeats the point of having a laptop, but there you go) my wiped-clean and restored laptop is now free of all software problems, hopefully.
The other bonus is that I now have a rather sexy-looking robot whose steely good looks pop up here and there on my monitor to remind me that he is guarding against any and all nasty viruses (well, alright, he is rather more androgynous in a metallic sort of way than sexy but he does have a slight ring of the Terminator about him and on a bitterly cold Somerset afternoon I’ll take what I can get).
I’ve tried my best to catch up with most of you and thanks so much for keeping in touch (although one or two of you did have rather too much fun in my absence, no names mentioned!) There are others out there going through similar computer/internet issues and I do feel your pain.
Which leads me to this: We all rely so much on modern technology now and since I started writing in earnest and then blogging I’ve realised that I’ve come to rely on it in a way I never did before. So alright, I admit, it has been a major pain in the rear but compared to the times back in the day when we were a family of five sharing one computer, it has been a walk in the park. On a sunny day.
Back then, it was like World War Three in our house if something went wrong with the computer.
Here is the scenario: Eldest Son comes home from school one day when he is about fourteen years old saying that the teachers have announced that they will no longer be marking hand-written work, such was the state of it that they couldn’t read it, so it was now necessary that all students turn in typed work if they want it to be graded.
Well that’s all fine and dandy then.
This of course meant that we had to get a computer, at huge expense, or so it seemed at the time. I remember we paid twelve monthly interest-free payments for it on our credit card. The fact that it would be a dinosaur within two years wasn’t even a consideration. Bearing in mind that this would have been in the mid 90’s and hardly anybody we knew had a home PC back then. How things have changed.
Of course everyone wanted a piece of the action with our new expensive, state-of-the-art computer toy. Meaning ex-husband (EH) who thought it was great for playing war games into the small hours. He worked shifts in a tough job, I’ll give him that, but if I ever hear a battle cry accompanied by a shrill horn blowing repeatedly at three in the morning ever again I cannot be held responsible for my actions.
Of course, with the arrival of the computer, so came the arguments. Thick and fast. Both boys needed it for homework (and their gaming too!) and then little Aspie D* who grew up from day one with all things technological and so thought nothing of grabbing the cursor away from me when she saw fit to ‘show me how it’s done properly’.
Forget the ‘Barbie’ horse-riding computer game, she wanted what the boys had, but I had to remind them that when playing such ghastly things like ‘Doom’ or such not to let her watch too!
The kicker was when EH would arrive home in the late afternoons after the day shift (it was so much better when he worked swings) usually in a foul mood and wanting to relax by sharing a nice cup of tea with me blowing someone’s brains out and exploding a few bombs along the way. Working in a prison will do that to you.
Never mind that Eldest Son was sitting quietly at the computer halfway through a vital homework assignment. Despite my protestations on my son’s behalf, his father took over insisting that it ‘wouldn’t be for long’ and that was when the trouble started.
‘Dammit!’ he demanded to know, ‘Why was the computer running so slowly, and what was all that crap the kids kept downloading and putting on it?’ So you know what he did? He went in and erased all their music and games just so that he could play his games. Never mind all the ‘crap’ that he downloaded. I don’t think I need to explain any more just what kind of effect this had on family relations.
We do actually laugh about it now but back then it was a different matter entirely.
So, with the battle scars very much etched into our psyche, it was not much better when we were reduced to a little family of three after my divorce and we moved back here to the UK. Eldest Son was away at University but me, Nicky and Aspie D were back to sharing a computer.
I set a timetable between brother and sister for equal and fair use of their share of computer time after school. I found a part-time job as a legal secretary in the same town where we lived thankfully as it wasn’t uncommon for me to take a call from one of them up in arms about the latest computer crisis. Always the computer!
One call in particular did break my heart. Aspie D called me up in floods of tears. She could hardly get the words out. Reception was full of clients and I had mountains of work to get through but never mind all of that. I was naturally very concerned at her distress and I could only imagine the worst.
Had something happened to her or her brother at school or on the way home, I questioned? No. Had one of the cats got out (they were indoor cats at the time) and, God forbid, been hurt? No. Had we been burgled? No. At last she was able to tell me the horrific news.
She used to play a game designed for children called Neopets and she had worked really hard to have earned, much to her delight, the much sought-after magic mirror. But when she had gone into her account she was devastated to learn that someone had hacked into it and had stolen her prized magic mirror.
It took me the entire evening to calm her down about that.
Not long after that, we watched in horror as we were held powerless at the mercy of a ghastly virus which caused our computer monitor to turn jet black with a very strange message in red letters appear across it while the CD drive kept opening and closing all by itself repeatedly. I was so freaked about it that I actually called the police.
They were no help to this single mother with her two frightened kids thinking that we were being stalked by some unseen cyber monster.
So I think you can better understand why, as soon as I get any kind of a whiff of computer trouble, my blood turns to ice. I really do think that I’ve got computer-related post traumatic stress disorder.
In fact, I do believe I can hear the distant sound of a battle horn even now…
………………………………………………….
The very act of writing this post has helped me clear my head somewhat but I apologise that this is not the weekly photo challenge you might have expected, having just committed to producing these on a Monday. Instead I shall do this tomorrow and then, all being well, things will get back to normal for the rest of the week and beyond. Thanks so much for bearing with me and as I always say:
Watch this space 🙂
*Thanks Nav 😉
A View From My Summerhouse 
It’s very stressful when your computer crashes, Sherri. I’m sorry you had to experience that, but I’m so happy you’re up and running again. I missed you!
I’m going to be honest and tell you I laughed when I read that you called the police when the red lettered message appeared on your screen…that’s priceless!
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Ha Ha!!! I know, can you believe it? I felt like such an idiot afterwards, we all really laugh about it now. I can just imagine what the police officer thought!! What crazy computer issues we have had in our family, it always seemed like one crisis after another. I’m sure you aren’t surprised about that though, lol 🙂
Thanks so much Jill, it was a pain and even now I’m having to get all my settings back to how I had them before. Even a simple job like uploading my photos from my camera or phone are different now as I can’t find any of the folders but I’m getting there! At least I’ve got my lovely metallic robot to look after me, ha 😉
PS. Thanks for missing me, I missed you too 🙂
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Computers are evil, let’s face it. Technology is a little demon that sniggers at all our technology-related misfortunes. As wonderful as some aspects of technology can be (e.g. blogging! 😉 ), I still hate how we all depend on it so much.
Regarding your laptop touchpad: I always use a mouse with mine! aha. I can’t stand touchpads, but I like the laptop ‘lap’ aspect, using the mouse on my leg or the sofa or wherever.
The family squabbles that came with those old computers were quite something, weren’t they? My mother did the same thing with the timetable and such, but the autistic brother liked to throw a spanner in the works with that quite regularly.
Hopefully you’ll get back into your swing soon 🙂
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Ha Ha! I do wonder how we managed without our computers, I honestly do! I do exactly the same with my laptop, using my mouse on my leg or the sofa, just as you describe! I have a Dell laptop and they seem to be known for having useless touchpads, hey ho!
Oh I can just imagine the battles you had in your family too. It was just the same with ours, the arguments never ended. Then what about me? I did sort of quite like to go on ‘my’ computer now and then too! Just as well that I wasn’t blogging back then, ha, can you imagine???
It was great when we all finally got our own computers…
Thanks Jennifer, I’m getting there slowly, hope things are going well with you 😉
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Glad to hear your technical problems have been solved! I use a wireless mouse for my laptop. I just dont have the patience for the touch pad LOL
I was already in my last year in college when my kom gave me a computer and I was so happy that I no longer had to go to an internet cafe to work on my thesis! It was just a second hand pc but I loved it with all my heart and I spent countless hours on it playing warcraft 🙂
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Thanks Jhanis! Ahh yes, Warcraft, is that the one with the sound of ‘that’ horn blowing I wonder, lol 🙂 I have thought of getting a wireless mouse and might just do it. I got used to the touchpad and then found it hard going back to a mouse but am used to it now. Just so glad to up and running again, and catching up slowly with everyone once more… 🙂
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It’s the noisy game where you build forts and attack your opponent’s camp hoping to obliterate every single thing they built. LOL I don’t know why I got hooked to that game. 🙂
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Ha Ha! Yes, I’m sure we had that game! I used to be obsessed with Super Mario and played it with the kids. I had to stop when I realised I was keeping the kids up after their bedtime…true confessions 😉
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I don’t blame you for calling the police that time.
My desktop is in my bedroom. One night I heard the printer come on and the webcam light up. I was ready to call the police because I figured someone was tooling around inside my computer.
Never found out what the heck that was about but didn’t bother doing anything either cause the Geek Squad isn’t cheap. I finally turned the webcam to the wall so I could sleep. 😀
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That’s really freaky Tess, I would be the same as you! Wonder if it was the same cyber monster that was terrorizing us!! Ha Ha, the Geek Squad are certainly not cheap, I can testity to that after recent expenses 😉
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I never drop less than $100.00. 😦
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😦
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*grins*
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Ah computers, you’ve just got to love them! We all have our own now which is a blessing. Husband had just bought himself an ipad. Goodness knows why, he used to have trouble just opening his laptop, but there we go. I don’t think he’s quite sure what an app is.
I always use a mouse, so have my lap top permanently on the table, which defeats the object a bit, granted, but also lap top mode is difficult when you wear varifocal lenses. My laptop is about four years old, it was bottom of the range and apart from one virus problem early on, has ben marvellous. There – that’ll be the kiss of death, no doubt. I’ll just go and back up my files in case. Glad you’re back blogging Sherri – and thanks for the laugh 😉
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Yes, now we have our own those good-old-bad-old days seem a distant memory, thank goodness!! Ha ha, I know about the whole app thing. I had to get a smartphone recently (a blog post about that coming up!) and I also had to get to grips with the whole concept of apps. Now I love them, so watch out! I wonder how your husband gets on with his Ipad, would love to know what he thinks of it…
Jenny, I wear varifocals too and I know just what you mean. I developed sciatica last year and was told that it was the way I was holding my laptop on my lap and not having it at eye level but I can’t see it properly if I don’t do it like that as I have to hold my head too high up and then I get neck problems! Oh the joy of getting older….
Yes, you better had go and back up now. I did that as I had a sneaky feeling that things weren’t going well and I’m so glad that I did. My laptop is a Dell and it has been ok although the touchpads are known for breaking so I’ve learnt. Oh well, so long as it keeps going as I really don’t want to have to buy a new one. It’s been bad enough having to get all my personal settings back.
Thanks Jenny, glad you enjoyed and it’s good to be back 🙂
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I always freak out when computers go bust, because I am so bad at backing stuff up. Seriously, disorganised isn’t the word… and so I always lose data. Do I ever learn my lesson? Apparently not. Although this cautionary tale has inspired me to do just that so maybe I’m at a turning point 😉
Computers were much more volatile back in the 80s and 90s, partly because of the shoddy hardware (in comparison) and also just because we knew so little about how to use them effectively. We first got a PC in 1992. With 4 siblings, yes, it was an absolute nightmare; World War III is a perfect description. Always eagerly going into the settings and so forth, accidentally wiping everything, causing the printer to billow smoke etc, and oh, it seems everybody thinks a different person is responsible!
I could be in the middle of an important essay, leave it unattended for seconds, come back and find somebody else sitting there messing around, having completely closed down and lost what you were doing. Grr. The anger!!!
I remember the excitement of hooking up to the phone line to go ‘on-line’ in early ’96. That was quite something. Behold! The Information Super Highway!
I had Doom! was a fantastic game in terms of the atmosphere of it. I let my brother play it once – he was 8 at the time – and I’ve never seen a kid jump so much at a door opening quite so much in my life. He didn’t want to play for very long! Looking at Doom now, it’s hard to picture for a youngster of 2014, just how realistic and really quite scary it was.
I’ve never been that big on laptops, but I had one for a couple of years, until last January; we ended our relationship when I found I could no longer turn it on. Ho Ho… I fiddled and fiddled with it but still nothing. I’m back on a desktop now, though we have 3 other laptops in the house too, and I also have a tablet. God, I’m so dependent. I could never do with those touchpads, I would get so impatient! Mouses all the way.
I don’t blame you for being alarmed by that virus; it’s really scary to think that somebody has hacked into your PC and has control over you and your personal files.
Well I’ve gabbled on long enough (far too much, methinks!) when what I really should have just said is that it’s nice to see you back, and I look forward to another cracking photo challenge tomorrow! Jennifer and I will try not to misbehave on this one 😉
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Oh goodness JG, you certainly have conjured up a household at war over the one computer in exactly the way it was in our house. Constant arguments, sneaking about as soon as someone left, things getting lost and deleted, oh the endless problems. Ha Ha, oh yes, the printer. I could do an entire blog post about that darn thing alone! Oh it’s all coming back now!!!
Oh yes, that sound when we dialled up to go online and then being ever mindful of how much time we were allowed. I had to monitor that and boy was I ever glad when we got broadband. We had cable in the States after a while of dial-up.
Yes, Doom was scary and Claire was obsessed even though I tried so hard to get her away from her brothers when they played it. She is quite the gamer now, more than the boys actually, so what does that tell you! She often reminisces about the 90’s saying they were the best for music, games, videos, everything.
Yeah, when I first got a laptop and had to get used to having a touchpad I hated it but then I got used to it and found it really hard to go back to a mouse. I’m left handed so I hated using it with my right hand but now I’ve ‘trained’ myself to do so, I can’t go back!! Weird that…
Wow, you certainly are ‘wired for sound’ so to speak. And yes, you should back up, I did before and I’m glad I did. Claire didn’t last time and she lost everything. She was in a terrible state for days about it. I swear these darn computers absolutely rule us!!!
No, it’s great reading and sharing in your adventures and thanks JG, it is good to be back, magical brolly and all…and I needed it today, it is chucking it down again. Oh, there’s a surprise.. 🙂
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Indeed! Horrible memories of walking into the room to find my brother sitting innocently at the PC with a cloud of smoke around him, coming from the printer! He’d pressed print about 1,000 times… 😮
Claire sounds like she has wicked taste. I love the 90’s to the degree that I sometimes have to be reminded that it’s no longer 1994. It was quite an exciting time. Show her The Crystal Maze, if she doesn’t love that I’ll eat my hat 😉
I’m left-handed too! All the best people are 🙂 Though I’ve used a mouse on the right since the get-go, so I don’t have an issue with it.
It’s been sunny here today. I am still waiting for some snow! It’s great to see you drop back in so well, the control you have landing that brolly craft is truly impeccable!
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I will show Claire The Crystal Maze, I’m sure she would love it, it is her kind of thing, lol!!
Yes, I did the same with the mouse, when I worked and had to use a desktop always used my right hand so it would be impossible for me to use my left now. Funny how that happens…and to think you are a leftie too, why am I not surprised at that? We got the gift!!!!
Oh I want snow so badly! I wonder if my brolly would work in snow? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I’m back and here to stay and keep those landings just perfect…hopefully 😉
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Aha, well, as I said, she has taste 😉 it’s fantastic.
Yes, it’s been such a horrible winter! All this mildness and rain, and of course the terrible flooding. Some snow might at least cheer people up… well, those who don’t have to go out in it at 6am I suppose. Oh, they were the days! I get so excited when it snows, it’s unbelievable!
Of course it will work! You’re Sherri Poppins! 🙂 Have a good night/Hi, good morning! 😉
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🙂 I’m with you about the snow, but then I don’t have to get up to de-ice my car in the early morning hours, which I did hate having to do…
Did you get some sleep? Here we are and it’s evening again… 🙂
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Aah yes, ‘fond’ memories of that, too… and waiting at the bus stop in a blizzard. Joy. Nothing beats that crunch of fresh snow under your shoes though!
Ha! I haven’t actually slept more than a couple of hours since Saturday morning. This is common. I’m running on, well, who knows what, really…!
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Geez, what ARE you running on JG?? Oh I remember those days growing up in Suffolk standing at the bus stop in snow blizzards. Why don’t we get to do that anymore? What’s going on? We definitely had more snow in East Anglia didn’t we?
Meanwhile, guess what it’s doing here…yep, another wind and rain storm. Oh joy…
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It must be the coursing adrenalin and testosterone 😉 I don’t know how we manage it but going days without much/any sleep is a common bipolar thing.
Yes I can remember lots more snow in the old days, too. And yet, far, far fewer snow days than kids get now!
Oh no! Sending my vibes to Somerset! Terrible stuff going down there. When will it end…? It’s howlingly windy here, but no rain. We’re meant to get that tomorrow, and Thursday, and Friday…
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It has been horrendous here today and more to come. The coastline from Cornwall to Dorset and Somerset in between…we are drenched and it is getting beyond a joke…and more to come…hope it isn’t too bad when it comes your way … 😦
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Your story certainly resonated Sherri and beautifully told as always. Computers have become an attachment to the body (almost) with the advent of the smart phone. They save so much time until something on them doesn’t work, or the upgrade of a program no longer functions in the way you are used to and then hours wasted trying to work it out. Hope yours are now sorted despite using a mouse.😀
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Ha, isn’t that the truth! You know, on top of all this, my smartphone upgraded today and now I can’t figure out where everything is! The whole style of the way my contacts are stored and the way they look has completely changed, and I had only just got used to it the way it was!! Aaaaaarghh….
Thanks Irene as always and I’m glad to be back 🙂
PS Am getting my award posts up soon, one of my many plans for last week that were scuppered, ha 🙂
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They did that to me also. Why can’t they just leave things that are working well alone. I’m getting old.😀
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Ha, I know the feeling, me too! Why indeed, I hate it when they make these ‘updates’. They are a pain in the neck.
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It’s a good thing that my husband works on computers. Although… I did have a Macintosh computer in the mid 90s that my husband couldn’t repair (that might be why he doesn’t like Macintosh computers). So glad that your laptop is fixed Sherri… I missed you 🙂
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Ahh, thanks Theresa, it’s nice to be missed, as I missed you too 🙂 That’s great that your husband knows computers (interesting about Macintosh’s, I have never used one but I gather they are quite different). My eldest son does too to a point and he has helped us out of many scrapes and near-misses but he lives a long way away so it isn’t practical most of the time for him to be available when we need him! I hate to bother him as I don’t want him to think we only ever call him when we have a computer problem!
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I can identify…I have a Dell laptop and the touchpad has never worked correctly. Been using a wireless mouse ever since I’ve had it. Now the 5-year old laptop is having its own issues, slow as molassess, even though it’s hardwired. I’m taking it to my church to work tomorrow to see if it’s actually the laptop or the place where I’m living (I have a feeling it’s the network at the house). Don’t know what I’m going to do if it turns out to be the network, since I’m renting a room. I may have to just pack up the laptop and write from there 3 days a week. If it’s truly the laptop, I’ll have to bite the proverbial bullet and get a new laptop, too – but not a Dell. I’m backing up all my work this week. Aaaahhhhhh! 😦
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Ha! Yes, these Dells are known for this problem. Mine hasn’t been working for over a year. I’m thinking of getting a wireless mouse now too. Ah, so sorry you are having these issues too Susan, do hope you can get it sorted and yes, I feel I am just putting off the moment but that when the time comes to replace it I won’t be getting another Dell either. My daughter has one too and her touchpad just broke and she has other issues with it. Last year she lost everything on it when her hard drive crashed with no warning. She was absolutely devastated. Ever since then we have been very vigilant in backing up and you are very wise to do the same. I was told that I have hard drive issues with mine too but that was 2 years ago and so far that at least is ok. But, you just never know…keep me posted.
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My computer experiences have been heavenly by comparison Sherri! But then I don’t have kids…It’s hard to imagine what we did without them (computers that is, not children!). I did learn to type on a manual typewriter at school, then progressed to owning my own electric one and finally a computer. Now I don’t know what I’d do without my laptop and I almost don’t want to say I haven’t had any problems in case I jinx myself 🙂 I did start having nightmares recently about losing all my stuff, so signed up to dropbox just in case.
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Just as well you have signed up to dropbox, make sure to back up everything as you never know, but great that you have not had any problems, and I hope it stays that way as it is an absolute nightmare when it happens.
Funny you mention about learning to type on a manual typewriter, I just wrote about this in today’s photo challenge post in which I also shared about good old-fashioned handwriting! I took the same channel as you, finally landing up with a computer.
I know, I don’t know how we managed before. What a different world we live in compared to the one we grew up in!
Thanks so much Andrea for sharing your computer thoughts 🙂
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I bet it was terrifying at the time but part of me is very jealous that you had a virus that opened and shut your CD drive while spelling out a message on your screen. It beats the “damn, the machine’s screwed” viruses that I had until I swapped to a Mac
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Ha Ha! It was very weird Dylan I can tell you. I think it was a virus called Turbo Monkey or something like that?? Not long after that we had to have a complete computer overhaul as in ‘damn, the machine’s screwed’!! I have heard that a Mac avoids these problems.
By the way, I linked to your post about sharing your ideas for writing your book in my photo challenge post today 🙂
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We are so dependent on technology. I can’t live without my iPhone these days and I get withdrawal symptoms if I don’t have access to the internet. But I still think children need to develop handwriting skills. I hope my son isn’t told by his school that he must type everything rather than write it by hand. His handwriting is appalling and needs practice.
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I totally agree, I had bad withdrawal symptoms all last week, quite worrying really! We were taught cursive handwriting at school with fountain pens – in fact, I wrote about this in today’s photo challenge post funnily enough. My children all learnt cursive at their American schools, but of course that is all lost now. I do hope that your children will be able to keep their handwriting as long as possible. I fear that it is becoming a dying art.
I hope you are doing ok Rachel…thinking of you…
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Such great cyber memories. And then they leave the nest! God bless!
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Ha! Ain’t that the truth Andy 😉 God Bless you too!
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I sympathize with you Sherri. Seems like everything revolves around computers these days. Man, how did we survive without them.
Makes it even harder (or easier depending on how you look at it) on kids growing up with them. Thankfully, I missed out on that. Computers were just coming out when our girls were little. But, like you, their kids are living the techno life.
Hang in there, my friend. It’s only a machine (just kidding – I feel your pain). 🙂
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Hopefully peace will reign now, thanks so much Pat! How did we manage before indeed? Life is certainly very different to the one we grew up in 🙂
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Sounds like you’re well on your way on reigning peace. If you can back things up on an external drive, that would go along way in security, too.
Things certainly are different now from when we grew up only I don’t remember them changing as fast. 🙂
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};-)>
Fighting my way through an inbox that was 350 unread emails deep. Apology for the delay.
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I fully understand Nav, trust me on that one! Hope you see your way clear soon… 🙂
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One word for you: APPLE. I switched over to Apple products about 10 years ago…I have a Macbook Pro laptop (just got my 2nd one recently..the first one I got 10 years ago is still running though). I’ve had ZERO problems. Literally, ZERO in 10 years. Apple customer support is outstanding, and they offer classes in their stores here for newbies who are just learning the ropes. I know your computer is up and running again now, but you may want to consider Apple for future options. At work, I use both PC’s (Windows platform) and Mac’s (Apple platform). NO comparison in terms of performance, speed, and problems. PC’s need constant maintenance, defragmenting, and virus sweeps. Macs need…NOTHING. They just work and work well. That’s my two cents, anyhow! And, I’ve got my cup of tea right here…just because this is your blog post 🙂
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Ahh, love that you have your cup of tea on the go while reading this!!! I do too, funnily enough!
You know, I have heard this from others about Macs but then I’ve heard others say they had problems trying to get them going properly. It does seem that you have had an excellent track record with them, that does sound pretty outstanding I have to say!
Tell me about all the constant maintenance. Although I’m hoping my little robot anti-virus man will help with this! He certainly looks like he means business, lol 🙂
Thanks so much for the moral support… happy writing 🙂
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Wow EH sounds a lot like one of my exes. The world is filled with these “charming” people unfortunately. I hope your computer problems are over for the moment and you don’t have to deal with it any time soon. I grew up in a computer loving family so I always had access to a computer way before they became cool or necessary for school. you’d think I’d be better with them. I’m not. Not one bit.
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Ha! Yes, it was not pretty, sorry you had a similar experience. Because of the age gap between my eldest son and my other two, the younger ones had much more exposure as children so they were the same. Thanks TB, so far so good and let’s hope it stays that way, and keep me posted with your situation too 🙂
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Good post, Sherri. Makes my day look easy. 😉
Okay, is it just me, or is it the British/American difference here?
When we get a strange red message on our computers (unless it’s a ransom note, a threat, terrorist note in another language, or information that our accounts have been hacked and we’re now penniless, etc.) we call the computer technicians. My son-in-law is a police officer, and he laughed when I called and told him what you did. He said, yeah, of course he’d leave a domestic violence case, a missing child, a five-year-old playing with a gun, or a break-in and hurry right over to check your computer. Of course…
🙂
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Ha Ha!! Yeah, shows how crazy I was back then! I seriously thought we had some major hacking thing going on and I was being stalked or something and it was late at night. I had the neighbour from hell when I lived in the States, for a time, and I think I was completely paranoid by that point! I felt like an idiot after I made the call.
Trust me Marylin, there is no difference. A British police officer is no more likely to come over to look at my computer than an American one, ie your son-in-law, you can be absolutely sure of that 😉
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I wrote a reply but it doesn’t seem to have posted-I’ll see if this does before I comment further……ironic?
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This came through Diane, sorry about your other comment. And yes, very ironic and so typical of these darn computer issues… 😉 xo
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Cyber hacking and virus infestation is traumatic and needs to be taken seriously by our legal system. Perpetrators should be punished in a similar weight to the psychological, emotional trauma they create. Thanks for sharing this. Hope the fear gets less by the day.
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Yes, it is very serious and traumatic indeed. No matter how much security is in place these cyber hackers still seem to find a way around it.
Thanks for reading this IT, things are ok at the moment and hopefully we won’t return to those days when we felt so helpless and didn’t have a clue as to what was going on.
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I fond of that maze. Just like in ScaryMaze.
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