I’ve had several such calls over the last fortnight, three in one day.

Of the three, I ‘played’ the first two to such an extent that the first gave up after half an hour, the second I pretended to be an IT Support chap and told them in no uncertain terms that I knew what their game was, the third, when they mentioned “computer” and “error messages” I yelled at them to Foxtrot Oscar with such volume that it brought my neighbour rushing round (she thought I’d fallen!).

The last one was yesterday (29th); I managed to keep the muppet running in circles for almost an hour.
Finally, I pretended to “cave in”, and asked him for the website.
He gave me the URL, which I typed in on my partner’s laptop (switched off).
I said, “My antivirus system has flagged it. It says ‘This website is suspicious.'”
“Oh, you need to turn off your antivirus program and firewall, if you have one, Sirr.”
At this point I told HIM to F.O., after giving my thoughts on his parentage…

Some may see this as a waste of time; I see it as a service to others.
The longer I can keep them tied-up wasting time with me, the less likely they are to find someone who might actually fall for this stuff.

Garyw and waco – My thoughts are with you both.
I hope both cats make a fast and full recovery.

Kind regards,

Don

Love the shot of Merlin…
Jaques is a handsome fellow. The photo of him in the snow is just perfect.

Don

Missy is beautiful… Great photos.

Here’s Sooty:

He looks fierce in this shot, but is anything but…
He does have a tendency to play-bite though. Usually one’s nose.

Don

Been here since September 2006, although prior to joining fully, I did ‘lurk’ for about 18 months.

Don

Jim, two words…

Antivirus and Firewall.

My anti-virus program is AVG, my firewall is ZoneAlarm.
Both are free, and have served me well for years without problems.
(Usual disclaimer applies. Other AV/ Firewall programs are available.)

Following on from what Scott Marlee said – Do NOT click on any pop-up links claiming to offer a free computer scan/ optimise your PC’s performance, etc. etc.
Chances are, these pop-ups will have some malicious code in there somewhere. Last month, I spent the best part of two days cleaning-up the aftermath of such malicious code from a friend’s PC. Not fun for either of us; although he had backed-up most of his files.

When you download your new AV and firewall, make sure you ENABLE automatic updates. That way, you will know that anything else that appears will be bogus.

Get Safe Online has some good advice. Look in the Knowledgebase.

Here are 10 Ways To Protect Your Computer.

Hope the above helps.

Don

Moggy, glad to see Electra has returned safely.

However, my news isn’t good – Timmy was killed in an RTA on the evening of 12 May.
Someone found him, and took him to VetsNow at Derby.
My partner and I will be collecting him tomorrow, and he will be buried close to his favourite spot in the garden.

Daryl and I wish to thank you all for your words of support.

Here are a couple of photos of Timmy in happier times:

Tommy (left) and Timmy. Brothers from the same litter.
When Daryl’s daughter told me that her cat had given birth to two Orange Tabby kittens, I was then faced with a choice of which one?
I simply could not decide, so chose both. Wonderful cats, both of them.

Timmy in his other favourite spot. He liked the shade from the Rhubarb leaves.

Don

Caught a brief glimpse of Halifax LL505 (Great Carrs) in there.