Today was Ugh

It just, was.

Just sat down to blog, and found my entire Picasa (Google) photo album has gone offline, which is a problem, since every KeriBlog photo is in there.  Cross your fingers it’s just a glitch, otherwise I’m in big trouble.

TTYT

 

 

How Did I Not Own Mirrored Sunglasses?

Me, a professional people watcher.

Really into this, don’t worry about what I’m watching :|

Overall though, nothing that exciting happened to me today.

Polished next week’s column (leasing VS financing a new car), and wrote the news : Super Mario is the spokesman for the Mercedes GLA in Japan, and it’s strange.

Hey did you hear the news that there’s a new CEO of my newspaper?  Brian Mulroney is my new mega-boss, how cool is that.

Had a thing in Scarborough.

Then a late afternoon of… manual labour.

That’s my condo’s storage locker, that I moved to a new locker, but really, why.

If I haven’t touched it in the 2 years I’ve lived here… why am I keeping it… me, the one who once gave away everything I owned. This post is now steeped in ridiculous rhetorical questions.

I’m wiped, can you tell?

You like how, on this warm sunny day, I’m wearing the same thing I did in February?

Have a great weekend, TTY Monday.

 

 

Hands Up if you Think my Jetta is So Beautiful

So beautiful, my Jetta.

It’s a 1999 VW Jetta, Wolfsburg edition.
A 2.0 L 5-spd manual, outputting 115 hp and 122 lb.ft.

Hit this milestone this week.

That’s miles, so therefore: 286,101 km.

Well, almost hit.

2 miles away from a great photo for a blog header, that my airhead self totally forgot to take, until I was 30 miles too late.

 

 

The Scariest Type of Malware – Ransomware

Of all the types of malware, this one scares me the most.

Ransomware – a type of malicious software that locks, and sometimes encrypts, the victim’s entire computer. The victim is then informed that removal is only possible, when they pay a ransom fee to the creator of the malware. Basically, ALL your files get locked up, and someone else has the key. 

The Attack

On my other computer, I was catching up on celebrity gossip, and streaming TV from a sketchy Eastern European site, when this page overtook my browser.

1 – informs me all my files have been encrypted
2 – shows my IP address, which didn’t pinpoint my exact physical location, but was pretty close
3 – ransomware often uses this popular ‘police-theme’, to give the illusion of authenticity, and heighten fear
4 – a scary countdown timer; I have 24 hours to pay the ransom

The Defence

Ransomware is usually installed from clicking a bad link on social media, in a website or email, opening a malicious email attachment, or sometimes just visiting a malicious site.

A closer investigation reveals this is mostly scareware. The English is poor, I’m on a Mac not a PC, the “Internet Police Department” uh-huh, and child p0rn phft as if, I don’t even really like kids.

Plus, 24 hours have passed, and my computer is fine.

Notice though, I said “my other computer“.

Because never would I visit those sites on my work computer. Which is why, had this actually happened, my solution would be to wipe the entire laptop, wouldn’t matter, there’s nothing on it. Opposite of this computer.

Keep your anti-virus software updated, your firewall on, and be careful what you click.

The Fix 

It’s up to you if you decide to pay the ransom.

F-Secure has removal instructions, as does Norton.  Or take you computer to your trusted IT repair place.

Regularly backup your files.