(xposted on Activism)
Warning for file downloaders but especially those of you with teenagers who use Kazaa or other file sharing sites:
I have been offline for 2 days now. I spent about $100 and numerous hours trying to get back online because of a hacker.
It seems that my 18 yo dd had been downloading music from a file sharing site. One of the files she downloaded had a virus. The virus enabled someone to take control of my computer and email account. They spammed hundreds of thousands of email accounts with pornography, etc. Also destroyed some of my software.
I had to totally wipe off everything from my computer and reinstall everything.
I can't begin to tell you the frustration I've been through trying to save my files and get my computer back up and running.
I am installing an internet security system this evening that I just purchased. I've also banned anyone in this house from downloading a file from any source other than a known one and virus checking all downloads.
Just wanting to warn you mamas out there that this can happen to anyone. Make sure you save your downloads to the desktop, then with UPDATED anti-virus software, virus check the file before opening!
Warning for file downloaders but especially those of you with teenagers who use Kazaa or other file sharing sites:
I have been offline for 2 days now. I spent about $100 and numerous hours trying to get back online because of a hacker.
It seems that my 18 yo dd had been downloading music from a file sharing site. One of the files she downloaded had a virus. The virus enabled someone to take control of my computer and email account. They spammed hundreds of thousands of email accounts with pornography, etc. Also destroyed some of my software.
I had to totally wipe off everything from my computer and reinstall everything.
I can't begin to tell you the frustration I've been through trying to save my files and get my computer back up and running.
I am installing an internet security system this evening that I just purchased. I've also banned anyone in this house from downloading a file from any source other than a known one and virus checking all downloads.
Just wanting to warn you mamas out there that this can happen to anyone. Make sure you save your downloads to the desktop, then with UPDATED anti-virus software, virus check the file before opening!
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