* Sandra suffers through an "I told you so" moment
When you write about technology for a living, you inevitably suffer that most embarrassing of moments: the one where your IT manager has to “educate” you about something you should already know about.
In this case, my IT department was kind enough to remind me about the dangers of adware and spyware, which earlier last week wreaked havoc on my laptop. “You write about this stuff,” my IT pal proclaimed as I winced. “I know,” I replied meekly. “But you write about this stuff,” he reiterated. I stayed silent and let him cart my ailing laptop away. One last shake of his head and I got it, “editor, heal thyself.”
Thus began my re-education on the topic of “otherware.” Adware is defined across several Internet sites as any software application in which advertising banners are displayed while the program is running. Spyware is any software that sends data back to a third party without asking the user. Some programs accomplish both of these at the same time – programs I seemed to have unwittingly installed on my computer. Hence the head shaking.
My other IT pro, who also helped return the computer to a healthy state, said there were several programs on my laptop that could be categorized as adware or spyware – some file-sharing programs and whatnot, some other stuff I downloaded to test drive that came with its own “otherware.” Occupational hazard, some might say.
I love trying new things. Someone tells me to check out a program, I go and download it, forgetting completely the head-shaking wrath I incur months down the road. Also, I plead ignorance because it isn’t until the “otherware” is installed that I comprehend its impact.
Even this time, as the IT team was sitting at my desk trying to backtrack on worms the virus detection was finding, I was racking my brain to think what programs I had toyed with. On the spot, I couldn’t think of any. Later when I was confronted with the list, it all came flooding back. And I felt woozy.
Our IT team is great about telling us to never ever under any circumstances download anything that’s not IT-approved. They hammer it home to us. But they’re dealing with a bunch of tech hacks that buck the system.
What can I say except I’ll never ever do it again. I know they’ve got a pool going on when I’ll make the next call to be bailed out. Blame it on the “otherware.”
Who’s your worst offender? Send your tales of woe to sgittlen@nww.com. I’ll have our IT department send you empathy notes.
