Tech Savvy from the Techno-Challenged

   I love technology. Technology is my friend. And I don't say that lightly either. Although I am currently in a non-income producing status, I use technology heavily to get jobs done in an efficient, coordinated manner. I may start a blog post at the dentist office (No Dr. I am not playing games on my phone), then finish it up at home on my laptop. I keep shopping lists that are shared with family so that any of us can stop at the store on the way home. Photos on my phone become posts shared with family and friends, printed albums for keepsakes, and bribery if needed. Recently I created a spreadsheet for a lighting design on my phone (from up on the catwalk), then later updated and tweaked it on the designer's laptop to make our work easier. After that I shared the document in the Google Drive so everyone who needed it could access, and those that needed to make changes were given editing rights. Life is grand! In our family we use computers, tablets, phones, digital cameras and MP3 players. Even an IPod here and there, if we have to....

   I love wireless printers and Bluetooth. I love the internet with all of its resources. Heck, we could not do homework many nights around here without it! Got a question, either Google it or ask Siri. I love the fact that I could take a picture while I was writing, upload it to my Picasa and then insert it in this blog - all within minutes. 

   But sometimes technology is my enemy.

   Ever notice how your best friends can become your worst enemies? They know so much about you. They carry so much of your information. You are dependent upon them. Then they dump you. Just like that. With little or no warning. All your precious photos, gone in the blink of an eye. The most recent copy of your resume, toast. The last 100 pages of your best seller, history.

   And you didn't even have to drop the bugger, spill your coffee on it or abuse it in any way. All you did was use it. Not carelessly, but conscientiously, with a virus protector and ad software to prevent malicious damage from being done to your precious cargo.

   Well, you may have let the kids use it.

   Worse, when it happens, you don't know how to fix it. If you are like me, you are a USER, not a PROGRAMMER. Even looking up the problem isn't much help. What you read looks like hieroglyphics from ancient tomb with scarcely a recognizable symbol. And the ones you think you recognize actually mean something else. And a lot of what you read simply tells you that you are screwed. I can see you nodding your head with sympathy. You have been there. You know what I am talking about.

   But since I love technology, I struggle on. This is not the first time (and probably not the last time) that I have done battle with a computer. I have become a little more savvy over the years. I now save everything on a cloud. Pictures, documents, notes and memos. And I use several different clouds depending on what I need it to do. Oh sure, I have heard comments like: "What if the cloud dies? Or someone hacks it?" My response is: "What if my house burns down? Or someone breaks in?" Same results. From a technical standpoint, I do the best I can do. I even have a physical hard drive back up.

   Nevertheless, it is still devastating when your technology comes down with a "virus" or even a "cold." It is bad enough that the technology becomes obsolete in a matter of weeks, or you do drop it down the stairs, or in the sewer, but to have it deliberately disabled is enough to make you pull your circuits out!

   As savvy as thought I had become, it happened. My computer caught a "cold." What is a cold, you might ask. Unlike a virus, which can totally destroy your computer and wipe out files, a cold is a program that slows your computer down, makes it difficult to use and can be hard to get rid of. In my case, my computer caught an ad-ware cold. Yes, I made that term up. And yes, you may use it.

     Fortunately, I am no longer daunted by my technology. I now live with the motto "It's already broke, what can I do, break it more?" So with that attitude, I used my precious spare time to research the how to undo whatever I did to make things broke in the first place. In the case of my computer "cold" I found a few articles that talked about registry directories and software I could buy to fix the problem, but what I wanted was to find out how I got the problem in the first place so I would not do it again. Then I wanted to know how to get rid of the problem without it costing me. What I first learned was pretty eye opening. My problem probably downloaded with a program I had loaded onto the computer. Seems that when you download programs, they don't have to be real clear about what they download with the actual software you are trying to get. As a matter of fact, free software doesn't have to even ask you if it is okay to download adware. Hmmm. Should I tell you that some of the software you buy has added, unwanted software too? Or is that just too wrong to be mentioned?

   So I Goggled the last program I had loaded onto my computer with the word adware. Guess what, I brought the problem into my computer. All by myself. I had downloaded Handbrake - free software for video editing, and highly rated at that. However, what I did not know was that the software required the user to download adware (such as JollyWallet and DefaultTabSearch). Now, to get rid of the unwanted bugger. Several articles suggested a simple fix - enter your control panel, select programs, type in the name of the unwanted adware program and uninstall. But after a search in my programs (via control panel - install/uninstall programs) I could not find the adware programs named in connection with the software I downloaded. I hit a circuit stone wall. How was I going to figure out what to delete? 

   I started by deleting the program I had last installed (Handbrake), but the ad-ware persisted. I could not find an article that could point to the culprit. I looked at list of adware to see if I could find a name to go with the programs in my registry (I checked Malware-Dectetive). I even tried searches using the infected computer, but all I pulled up were - ADS! Ugh. I put my head in my hands and wiggled the mouse, scrolling pointlessly across the screen, opening and closing the ads. Then I noticed at the bottom of one of the ads a notation. The name of the adware company! Using this gem, I went back to my trusty control panel and into my add/remove programs. I searched out the offending adware name and clicked uninstall and held my breath.

   Would it work? Most of the articles I read said that adware (also know as greyware for anyone who really wants to know) was difficult, if not impossible to remove. Other articles used a techno-speak that I could not understand. Still others talked about the dreaded registry. Registries are for people who know what they are doing, (or getting married or having a baby). I won't go there!

   Uninstall complete. I got a message to reboot. I was still holding my breath. It is amazing how long you can hold your breath when you need to. I mean, it was like out of one of those action movies where the ship blows up and the hero swims for like twenty minutes underwater without coming up for air.

    AANNDDD.....It worked! I was ad-free! At no additional cost. And my computer has worked smoothly ever since. Take that Ad Blaster!

Having problems with your computer and feeling brave, take a deep breath. Remember, it is already broke. And give it a try. Hey, if I can do it, you can too.