Thursday, January 21, 2010

On Back Peddling on Forwards:

I was doing a bit of house cleaning on the computer. Removing stagnant blogs I once followed. Dumping old out dated Email addresses. Filing pictures and files.

I had become lax in my habits and my up keep. My computer is set up so it does all the regular house cleaning, virus de-germing and sweeping out of cobwebs on a set schedule.

I also dumped a bunch of old emails with forwards and/or attachments in them. I was having trouble again with the computer because I opened an email from a trusted family member. My computer got the sniffles again.

My computer has had its share of troubles, so far nothing insurmountable and I want to keep it that way.

So, I have gone back to my rule of ‘not opening forwards’ or ‘attachments’ from anyone, friend and family alike, unless I am aware of and have asked for said forward.

The jokes were funny, and the chain emails made me crazy (I have never passed them along anyway.), but I can’t keep on having to service my computer at an expense just because I was curious about an email forward or attachment.

I like the idea of getting little trifles that ones friends or family find funny or useful in an email, but I won’t be opening them anymore.

You may trust the source, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t duped themselves and passing on a computer virus.

I hope you all understand and don’t feel I’m ignoring you. I just have to look out for unnecessary expenses.

I love my computer because my friends live in it, so I have to protect it.

3 comments:

Mouse said...

I hear you.. I had to wipe a hard drive over some stupid joke email that hubby's grandfather sent to me b/c it had an internet critter attached to it! He would also forward me the most hateful political emails and things I have no interest in.
My favorite people live in my computer as well.. I understand very much about protecting it!!!

FUZZARELLY said...

It's getting crowded in here, though.....

Batty said...

That's a good idea. I've seen spam sent to me -- by my own e-mail. If you can't trust yourself, whom can you trust?
Unless the attachment was clearly sent by a human I know, addressed to me, and with a subject line I recognize as human-generated and addressed to me (not "user e-mailaddress")... it's not getting opened.