Bad Connections

I may not be around for awhile.

As I type, I'm waiting to see if my computer is safe from a virus that was let loose by a bunch of Estonian hackers this past fall.  the details of this story are too random and complicated to explain, but the when the FBI caught them, they took out the Domain Name Service (DNS) units and replaced them with clean ones, with the intent of shutting them down on Monday. July 9.  That means any personal computers infected by this malware will lose Internet service then.  I checked my computer, and the service I used says it's fine, and only 64,000 computers out of hundreds of millions of computers in America are likely affected.  So, while I like my odds, I can't say for sure that I won't lose Internet service on Monday.

I may lose Internet service - and more than that - even sooner.  Severe thunderstorms are expected for today (Saturday, July 7), and it's possible - some forecasts even suggest it's likely - that there could be a derecho affecting my area like the one that pummeled Washington, D.C. and other areas last week.  So, even though my area got hit by a freak snowstorm this past October,  that doesn't necessarily diminish the chances of another freak storm coming by and knocking out our power indefinitely so soon.  So much for odds.

Ahh, stay tuned.  I might be back soon.