[Hidden-tech] Any experience with a Virus that attacks documents?

[Maria Korolov]

For me, the only thing keeping me on Windows is my Filemaker database. I've
already switched from Office to OpenOffice and from Photoshop to GIMP with
zero regrets.

But I haven't found an easy-to-use open source alternative to Filemaker
yet. However, I WILL have to switch away at some point, to a Web-based
platform. Back in the day (very old days) I used to write relational
database software from scratch (like having to write sorts and searches in
Assembler from scratch!) so I'm considering just moving to the latest,
modern, cutting-edge Web database development framework. One that lets me
create pretty, database-driven websites.

Any suggestions?

-- Maria

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<http://www.networkworld.com/author/Maria-Korolov/> • PC World
<http://www.pcworld.com/author/Maria-Korolov/> • Independent Banker
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On Fri, Jan 16, 2015 at 10:22 AM, Tim Boudreau <niftiness at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> At the risk of sounding like a crank...
>
> There is a simple way to never have problems like this (or reduce their
> likelihood to infinitesimal):  DON'T RUN WINDOWS.
>
> Seriously.  There are alternatives - some of which (say, Linux Mint) would
> possible feel more comfortable to someone familiar with Windows XP or 7
> than Windows 8 does.  It's not your grandfather's Linux - I've set up very
> low-computer-skilled neighbors with it, who loved it.
>
> At this point, the Windows software ecosystem is predators all the way
> down (think your anti-virus software vendor - which gets a list of every
> file and program you open - doesn't sell that information?  Think again - I
> have friends who work for one such vendor).  Let me repeat that - it's
> predators all the way down - at best you get to pay a lesser predator to
> keep the nastier ones at bay.
>
> Or get a Mac.
>
> Unless you do something highly specific that requires software only
> available on Windows - say, CAD programs or software that runs a lathe
> (sorry, word processors, excel and photoshop don't count - there are
> genuinely viable alternatives) - there is NO reason to be running it.  It
> is costing you money, leaves you vulnerable to problems like the one in
> this thread and worse.
>
> If you don't want to give it up because you *like* it, fine.  But that's a
> choice like choosing to continue smoking cigarettes.  You know it will harm
> you some, and possible really severely - and you are making a conscious
> choice to do it anyway.  Because in this day and age, you don't have to.
> If you think you have to, consider the possibility that this idea is really
> just learned helplessness.
>
> The whole idea of being in a situation where your computer is constantly
> under attack, where innocent acts like opening an email can lead to
> catastrophe, where the machine is not a tool you use like a lawnmower, but
> something un-understandable and constantly buffetted by forces beyond your
> control - that's not what the world of computers is like to non-Windows
> users.  The fact that it got like this slowly, so it *seems* normal is more
> like the story of the frog being slowly boiled and not noticing.  If a
> malicious program has encrypted your documents for ransom, you're being
> boiled.  If you're in a situation where that could happen to you any day,
> why stay in that situation?
>
> I run Gentoo Linux myself (not for the faint-of-tech-heart), but this is
> the most Windows-user-friendly Linux distibution I know of these days.
> http://www.linuxmint.com/
> You can test drive it without committing to it, or install it next to
> Windows on your computer and try gently migrating to it.
>
> The point is, there are alternatives.  The first step is recognizing that
> the problem is real.  And I don't see a lot of people pointing out that
> there are real, user-friendly alternatives out there.
>
> I know this won't help get your documents back, but for anyone reading
> this who wants to avoid a similar situation, there is a way out.
>
> -Tim
>
>
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