The Word "Malicious" Sounds Delicious but It's Not

           

            Saturday was a laundry day and since the salvation Army thrift store is right next door to the Laundromat, I went in the see if there was anything I needed there or anything interesting that I didn't know I needed. I keep looking for a clamshell soap dish and a clamshell light fixture but I never see them. I used to have a soap dish like that to go with the clamshell shaped bathroom basin but it broke many years ago. I found a hair dryer, not for me because I never use one, but for my cats, so I can torture them all with a flea and tic bath. I’ll be less worried about them getting sick from the cold if I can dry them off thoroughly afterwards. I still couldn't find any curtains for the living room window that weren't too feminine, too light or too small. I did find a yoga mat though to eventually replace one that will probably fall apart soon.

            That night I watched the first episode of the Walt Disney television series from the fifties based on the life of Davy Crocket. I think the guy’s accomplishments are a little too impressive to be fully real. It was interesting to see Buddy Ebson as Crocket’s sidekick. This role was probably the last major stepping stone before he became a star as Jed Clampet in the Beverly Hillbillies.

            My Short Story professor had posted a document online in PowerPoint format, which my system couldn't read, so I went looking for software to convert a .ppt file to .doc format. I found a site called ppttopdfonline.com and it seemed innocent enough, but I think I was stupid to not look it up. I see now that it’s been found to carry malicious software. It didn't even do the job after I gave it my email address. At first nothing happened that I could tell. I found another site that claimed to be able to do the conversion but this time I looked up “Zamzar” and found they have a good reputation. They also did the conversion easily. Later on though my computer started acting strangely and I started getting a persistent pop-up from a program that wanted to do something I didn't ask it to on my system. I went to bed worried that I’d gotten a virus.