Well fuck.
I got hit by a lot of malware. One of which may or may not have gained access to Andrew's bank information. Bank has been notified, everything /should/ be fine.
I think I got all of it, but I'm not really sure and something is keeping me from installing anti-virus software and booting into safemode (those could be completely unrelated errors) and I'm not taking the chance so... REFORMAT! Yay. I've reformated this computer only twice and both within the past year an a half, which is amazing since I've had it for like... 7 years? 8 years? I'm not sure.
Anyway, yeah, if you get any e-mail from me that seems incredibly generic and has an attachment anytime in the next week or two, just... don't mess with it. Also, make sure Java, Shockwave, and ActiveX are always fully updated because older copies have enormous holes in them. And I recommend getting the free version of AVG anti-virus software because it apparently kicks ass, is as good as or better than most paid stuff, and ad-aware/spybot are generally stupid and bad at removing the root of any issue you may have.
Thus concludes my public service announcement.
I will now go move 5-10 gigs onto my secondary drive and commence re-installation.
And before anyone says anything stupid and smarmy:
Macs don't get viruses often because no one gives a fuck about them, not because they're at all difficult to break into.
Okay, that may have been a little harsh.
But it's still true.
And although getting a Mac virus is rare, their virii much more likely to do WAY more damage (stealing account numbers while corrupting your data and eventually causing your computer to become a box of scrap) and are likely to go completely undetected because it's very rare for a mac user to have any anti-virus software.
And it's true that Macs aren't frequently targeted because they're not used nearly as much as PCs, which means that by targeting PCs a program is able to get to many more computers.
I think I got all of it, but I'm not really sure and something is keeping me from installing anti-virus software and booting into safemode (those could be completely unrelated errors) and I'm not taking the chance so... REFORMAT! Yay. I've reformated this computer only twice and both within the past year an a half, which is amazing since I've had it for like... 7 years? 8 years? I'm not sure.
Anyway, yeah, if you get any e-mail from me that seems incredibly generic and has an attachment anytime in the next week or two, just... don't mess with it. Also, make sure Java, Shockwave, and ActiveX are always fully updated because older copies have enormous holes in them. And I recommend getting the free version of AVG anti-virus software because it apparently kicks ass, is as good as or better than most paid stuff, and ad-aware/spybot are generally stupid and bad at removing the root of any issue you may have.
Thus concludes my public service announcement.
I will now go move 5-10 gigs onto my secondary drive and commence re-installation.
And before anyone says anything stupid and smarmy:
Macs don't get viruses often because no one gives a fuck about them, not because they're at all difficult to break into.
Okay, that may have been a little harsh.
But it's still true.
And although getting a Mac virus is rare, their virii much more likely to do WAY more damage (stealing account numbers while corrupting your data and eventually causing your computer to become a box of scrap) and are likely to go completely undetected because it's very rare for a mac user to have any anti-virus software.
And it's true that Macs aren't frequently targeted because they're not used nearly as much as PCs, which means that by targeting PCs a program is able to get to many more computers.