Extortion

To me, it’s just as bad as what the "Mafia" used to do to legitimate business owners when they’d come by and sell insurance that would prevent attacks...by the "Mafia". I was searching for a GM part for our auto..that has over 100,000 miles. Now we all know any vehicle with that kind of mileage...things just automatically quit working. Two of the three knobs that control fan, A/C, and defroster...just fell off onto the floorboard.

In an attempt to find a source via the internet to purchase..I clicked on the very first site that popped up on a "google search". This, evidently, was the wrong thing to do. This site immediately downloaded some sort of .exe program that would activate itself and attempt to go to a site that would...for a certain dollar amount..fix the problem that they had created. This program would activate at regular 5 minute intervals without fail. Is that extortion..or what? My Norton Anti-Virus program would not allow the opening of their web-page..however it did allow the .exe program to be deposited onto my hard drive in the first place.

After several failed attempts to locate this "worm" I downloaded two "malware" programs..Ad-Aware and Spybot. Both failed to find this little bugger. Spybot did inform me that my Windows Registry had been recently changed and asked if I’d like to fix. I chose the wrong option...I said yes..fix! I should have known better...but...! After this fix and attempting to re-start my computer..it would not "re-boot". My only option at this point was the "recovery" program that came with the computer. This option was chosen. I thought all would be well...and hopefully it will with time. This recovery program re-installs the Windows program as it was when it was purchased in 2005. So for the last few days I have been attempting to upgrade all programs that I have acquired in the last five years. Luckily..or should I say, "providentially" the computer stored most all of my acquired programs in a "back-up" file and the tedious process of reloading has been on-going for the last few days.

What is really odious is knowing first hand that there are actually "real-live people" out there in cyber-space writing these malicious programs and it is hard to tell how many, perhaps thousands, are going through the same tedious process of trying to restore...what these "locusts" have eaten.

As a Reformed student of the Word, I have been reminded of our fallen nature: "the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jer 17:9)