Friday, May 31, 2019, 3:30 p.m.
I have had a tremendously hard week! Yesterday I was certain I was ready to go back to a pen and legal pad. On Monday, I had noticed double-underlined hyperlinks in all my pages in my “Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics” blog and website, and I mistakenly assumed that the site had been hacked. What led me to believe that my site had been hacked by spammers were the 59 extremely scammy and spammy comments that had been building up since May 18. They had not been posted, but neither had I received any notices that there were comments to be reviewed. I felt horrendously violated! I immediately permanently deleted all 59 spam comments. Then I believed that the only action I could perform was to delete the site. Six years and thousands of hours’ worth of research and writing! So I did.
Then I saw the same infernal double underlines on other websites and even in Word documents that I was working on offline. Gradually, I had to admit that the problem was in my own computer and not on all the websites. So the next logical thing, to my hysterical brain, was to run a Norton full system scan, which I started on Monday afternoon. I had no clue that it would continue to run until sometime in the wee hours of this morning.
Before that was anywhere near completed, I Private Messaged Scott, including Linda in the thread, to pick his computer guru brain. He went through all the basics, most of which I knew, but I knew he had to say everything anyway. After Internet Security 101, he recommended an ad blocker and a malware tool. Also, to check Chrome Extensions for anything that looked suspicious.
The short version of the story is that my Norton full system scan scanned 11 million items, and detected and resolved 259 security threats. I ran adwcleaner which found and quarantined 259 malware programs, Malwarebytes Premium (14-day free trial) found 3 more, and uBlock Origin started finding and hiding anywhere from 2 to hundreds of ads on web pages I viewed. Finally, I discovered that a Chrome Extension, SuperSimpleTools, was apparently causing the evil double underlining! I had to restart my computer multiple times to get my system into a reasonably usable state.
So I was REALLY ready for my group acupuncture session this afternoon. I checked in early enough that the receptionist was able to schedule my next appointment. I got chair #7 today, facing a cabinet with a sign on it that requested for all electronic devices to be turned off. I got out my phone and muted it, then cleaned my ears with the alcohol wipes I had been given. I settled in against the pillow propped up against the back of my chair and with my feet on the footstool.
The same acupuncturist was here as for the last two times and I still don’t know his name. I think his first name is Jorge. Still very soft spoken, with a gentle touch when he came to me to insert the needles, though it felt like he used more pressure now. Maybe too many of his needles had been falling out.
When he had finished, he dimmed the room light, which gave the illusion that the music was louder. It wasn’t, but it was easier to concentrate on mindful listening as I practiced mindful breathing, letting go of all thoughts–especially any thoughts of malware on my computer! I kept my eyes closed, kept feeling more than thinking and I felt a lot of emotional memories, feelings that couldn’t be put into words. All too soon, the room lights came back on, and Jorge was instructing the members of the group to make their next appointment on their way out. Which I didn’t have to do because I had done it before the session.
I noticed that one of the needles from the right side had fallen out and landed on my purple shirt, where it was easy for Jorge to retrieve it. I left quite unceremoniously, following a dark-haired young woman who opened one of the doors out into the waiting area.
Linda and Emily were waiting in the van, listening to KDFC. Emily was busy people watching while Linda was searching online for pet CBD. That was going to be our next project.
After that, I decided I could safely request WordPress.com to restore “Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics,” then I had to awkwardly inform the group members that I had made a mistake. But I took time to duly warn them, as internet users, to install an ad blocker and use MalwareBytes on their own computers. I am SO ready for Shabbat at sunset!
