Hello, bookish and blogger friends! It’s been a while since I’ve posted so I just wanted to give everyone an update. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me post about my recent computer infection. It’s something I want to share with you in a little detail as I would NEVER want to see it happen to any of you.
I have, for many years now, lived with a false sense of security when it came to my Mac. I’ve not once had any issues with speed, malware, etc. and was always told that “you can’t get a virus with a Mac”. I recently learned that this is not true. Here’s how it happened:
I was planning a last-minute getaway to Italy and was on an Italian hotel website. I don’t even recall which one. I clicked on the “gallery” link because I wanted to see all of their photos. Then came the infamous “update your Flash Player” pop-up. Now stop. I know what you’re thinking. That’s the oldest trick in the book and how could she not know that?? I have an explanation. European hotels frequently don’t update their websites for years and use older technology. You can’t even book online on many of them. And I, being the Princess of Technology, have gone several years without updating my OS. So it made perfect sense, in the moment, that I needed to update my Flash Player. Because it has something to do with visuals, right??
When I tell you that this thing/virus/PUP is bad, I am not exaggerating. Just for starters, I lost all control of my search engines and no amount of manual overrides fixed the problem. Apparently I’m not the only one this has happened to but I want to bring attention to. You can read about it here. A good friend who is a tech wiz ultimately fixed the problem for me (thanks, Dan!) but I was seriously ready to just buy a new laptop.
I’m now in Italy, eating with abandon and drinking wine until my teeth are purple. I’ll be visiting blogs and reading as time allows but won’t be posting again until I return on May 17th. I hope you’re all enjoying some nice spring weather and loving your current read.
Saluti!
P.S. If you want to see too many bad photos of what I’m eating and drinking, follow me on Instagram!
Boo to the computer virus but YAY to Italy! I went two years ago and fell in love. Enjoy enjoy enjoy! You can write about books when you get back.
Thanks, Catherine!
Oh no! They’re a nightmare but I’m glad that you’re in Italy relaxing! Saluti Ann!
Thanks, Nikola!
I don’t have a Mac, but when I see that Flash thing I update with it. Nothing has happened so far. I guess from now on I’ll call Cox Tech Support, which I pay $14.99 per month for, and have them do see to it.
Brenda
Fingers crossed that it never will, Brenda. It was a real mess. I’ll have to look into Cox.
Glad you got your computer figured out, what a scary thing to happen! I’ve had a few issues with my desktop mac, although not software/virus related. It’s never fun when your computer has problems.
Enjoy your time in Italy! Caio!
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Thanks, Emily! Apologies for the delay in response. It’s nice to be back and I’ll never update Flash Player again. Lol.
OHMYGOSH. I AM SO SORRY!
Having just come back from my own technologically-induced hiatus, I completely understand your exasperation and frustration. That’s horrible. I’m glad things seem to be on the mend, however. I don’t judge you. Thanks for sharing the article about this, though. That’s quite helpful!
Will you be doing a post on Italy? Because, that would be awesome.
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