Lumpy's Corner

I know I have written about protecting your PC from malicious entities lurking in cyberspace. I know I have written about the headaches of removing nasty bugs from PCs. The only thing is usually my PC is protected and not the one infected. Not this time.

The infections were the direct result of carelessness on my part. A stupid and foolish oversight on my part. Originally, the victim PC was not used for the Internet and, habitually, I hide behind the firewall protection of a broadband router.

This time things were different. In a double ironic manner, my AVG anti-virus popped a warning message as I was searching for my XP SP2 CD. It popped a warning for some of the same bugs usrbingeek and I were discussing the night before.

A humbling experience; now needing some serious attention. I spent the rest of the evening, a long evening, doing various virus scans, deletions and cursing as the scans discovered more and more variations of the malicious code. Almost 24 hours later, I had thought I had a clean system but had lost some of the functionality of Windows Task Manager. I would soon find out I was wrong on both accounts. Enter Jeff and Maxanmike...

Many times it is not what you know but who you know. This is a classic example of that.

Let's start with my less than harmless stupidity regarding what I thought was a bug caused by the recent virus. When I hit CTRL+ALT+DEL, which every windows user does, I got this. Notice the tabs are missing tabs, the familiar windows close X button and no minimize button. Odd eh?

Try this... On your machine hit CTRL+ALT+DEL, go to the edge of the window and double click and you will get what I just showed you. Now go back the edge and do it again and your window will look like this. Now I had the same problem on my laptop about six months ago and, finally, some one in IRC just happened to notice this feature. Maxnmike was nice enough to let me know what was really up. When I "fixed it" I was laughing so hard I nearly fell out of my chair. Humbleness over came me... heh.

Now I have discussed this "bug" with a number of other individuals and other than one individual, not a soul knew about it. So color me simple. There were, however, real issues with my machine.

Enter a certain Jeff who is also known as Best Techie. He is a very knowledgeable young man and I am much in his debt for his assistance. To make the story short, I had to run several scans post to his forum and resolve it that way.

1. It is real time help. You do not have to check your e-mail for a reply. You do not have to reply stating that you do not understand what they mean and wait for another e-mail. You get what you want as fast as you can type. It is typed conversation. Immediate clarification and feedback make it the best method to solve a problem on the web.
2. You can connect virtually anywhere. You do not need a high speed connection. At present, I am on a modem and can still connect easily and quickly. Because it is text only it moves very quickly. I am sure there are even clients available for a vic20. There are software packages available for every platform and device. I have connected at coffee shops on my pocketPC. I believe there are even options to use it on your cell phone. Even if you do not have software you can still connect through sites such as Wyldryde's Floating Chat Window in any computer with a browser.
3. You are getting advice from the best source. The individuals who will assist you are not only experts. They are passionate! This is much better than an expert for they are already an expert but they are those that love what they do. They often have a website dedicated to the very topic that they have a "channel" for. They do not leave their passion at 5 PM.
4. You can easily take notes. If you have IRC software simply log it. If you are using a browser simply cut and paste it.
5. Last but not least, they are very used to helping people through IRC. They know how to converse with a keyboard and they know how to converse with people who are not used to doing so.

Below is a partial, very partial, list of some of the IRC channels (or rooms if you wish) on the WyldRydeIRC network. I am not very well verse with other networks for I seem to fill all my needs with this well run network. If you wish to find out about other networks, I would ask some of the regulars on this network and expand from there. Most of the channels I am going to mention are relevant to spyware, malware and virus removal. I am aware that there are many other computer issues out there but these items top the list for the average user. If you want to find out about other areas, try lockergnome, check the WyldRyde list or use my contact form and I will let you know all I know.

I have organized the list as follows: Name, link to IRC channel (this will work if you have IRC software), and website (if they have one). If you do not have an IRC program go the my sites applet or WyldRyde's Applet. You will join lumpyscorner or wyldryde respectively. You can change to the channel you wish by typing /join #channelname. If you are interested in more WyldRyde channels check out this list.

• lockergnome - lockergnomeIRC - Lockergnome --- Simply put, this is Lumpy's favorite hangout. Lockergnome is the brainchild of Chris Pirillo who has assembled a geek squad beyond compare. You will bump into many of them in his channel. One thing I will tell you now however, Chris rarely has the time to stop in and chat so don't bother asking. You can connect to the lockergnome channel in your browser as well.
• besttechie - besttechiIRC - Besttechie --- I already told you about my adventures with Jeff. This is a great place to go for spyware help and other technical issues. They too offer you the choice of using your browser to chat.
• killspyware - kilspywareIRC - The rock247uk Spyware Removal and Prevention Page --- This is a great place to go for help with removal of all those pesty things that infect you computer. You can catch the rock in your browser as well.
• geekstogo - geekstogoIRC - Geeks to Go --- This is another channel on WyldRyde. I have never been there but it is recommended highly. Hopefully I will never have to use my browser to get help.

Well I have rambled on long enough about IRC. I am off to chat. See you all in CyberSpace and surf safe all!

Special Thanks to Steve (better known as usrbingeek) for his suggestions on this list and to all the other WyldRyde users who have helped me over the years.