Farewell Laptop

This was supposed to have been published last week 10/12/15. 

One thing I didn't mention before my trip - my laptop was infected with a ransom ware. 

The crazy thing is that the laptop hadn't seen Internet in almost two years and then the ten minutes I use it to check why my wireless isn't working and connecting it directly is all it took. This window pops up:

I had a delayed reaction. It took awhile for it to sink in that it was real. It wasn't until I clicked on some files and found they wouldn't open that the full effect was realized. I mean, this is the kind of things that happen to other people and on TV. Not to me personally. And suddenly I felt like Carrie Bradshaw on Sex in the City when her laptop crashes. 

At least I heard of backing up but did I actually do it?  Sometimes. It's like me and flossing. (I just was at the dentist today for a cleaning - no work needed!). I know I should do it religiously for my own personal good but it's such a chore I skip it most of the time. 

This weekend, my big project was consolidating all my files and double backing up. I'm more hopeful now than I was earlier that the laptop was nearly all backed up. Of course, the first files I think of are my photos. And this weekend I came across a lot of the ones I was worried I lost. 

My last step is to go through and cross check what is on the desktop and what I have. Part of me wants to know and the other part doesn't. I still haven't read all the way through my meticulous note book of items I boxed up and put into a storage locker 15 years ago that was all lost. I should dig that up. It's been long enough to read now. 

The strange thing was after the incident and after the computer specialists said they couldn't do anything to recover the files I was listening to this Radio Lab episode as I was landing in Denmark that was about a lady in NYC that also had a ransom ware infection and went the path of paying up. The idea never crossed my mind. Apparently there is a big work force of smart, young, educated professionals in Russia who can't get 'regular' jobs and as a result this industry has grown. In the end it was a success, after an ordeal of paying the ransom the files were released. I didn't think that worked. Very interesting episode. 

Anyways, don't think I need to go that route (fingers crossed) and as the technician said, my laptop was very old anyways. So maybe it is time to upgrade. 

Now if I only can get my wireless to work. Lesson learned though, I wasn't connecting the computer to the outside world until everything was triple backed up. 

And maybe I should move to the front of my list my blurb book projects. Great program for publishing books and a good way to get your photos onto your bookshelves.