by Amy Lawrence, Features Editor, Manufacturing.net

I suffer from Not-Enough-Hours-In-The-Day Syndrome. I barely have enough time during the day for daily maintenance, let alone preventative maintenance. 

Since I have a company computer, I assumed that all of my antivirus software was current and that I was protected from threats. I didn’t think I needed to download any anti-spyware or anti-malware programs. I was wrong.

It all started innocently enough. It was the day of the Kentucky Derby. I watched the race, but since none of the horses that I bet on were anywhere near the top three, I decided to check online to see if they actually finished the race.

I had Internet Explorer set to open to MSN, and I found an article on Derby highlights. As soon as I clicked on the article, IE closed. I chalked it up to a random technology gremlin and attempted to open IE again. Then everything spiraled out of control.

A nifty piece of scare-ware called “XP Total Security” kept popping up with pretend virus scans that supposedly found something like 56 viruses and security threats on my machine. I tried to do a scan with my antivirus software to get rid of it. No luck. I tried to check my security settings under Control Panel. It blocked me from opening it. I tried to go to Google and download something to make it disappear. It blocked me from opening IE too. 

IT spent over an hour with me on Monday morning trying to get rid of it. Thankfully, “XP Total Security” is no more and my computer is back to normal. But what if something went wrong? 

I’ll never know if having Malwarebytes on my computer would have stopped the problem in its tracks, but it would’ve been nice to have the option. I had nothing on my computer other than my antivirus, which the IT department told me was out of date anyway. 

Luckily, my technological trauma wasn’t too bad by other disaster standards. After all, I’m just me, not an owner of a company. Even if you had something as simple as my computer dilemma, think about what that could mean. An order could get deleted. Or an extended delay due to computer problems could cost you a customer.

Of course, you can’t really plan for everything. There will be injuries and illnesses, natural disasters, financial issues, etc. But with all that already hanging over your head, you have to guard against what you can.