Not the Trojans that Sex Therapists are usually concerned with!

I've been online since 1996, and in all that time I've never had a virus on my computer. For the first 5 years I had a Mac Performa, a beloved computer that finally gave up the ghost and was "buried" with many tears on my part. But even since "going over to the dark side" and moving to a PC, I've been remarkably lucky and virus-free for somebody who spends a lot of time online unwilling, blogging, talking with friends and family in the UK via instant messaging or planning my website, etc.

Several months ago, I invested some considerable funds in a brand, spanking new lap-top for my clinical office. There it usually sits, my pride and joy, gleaming in silvery splendor on my office desk. Imagine then my horror when, despite the most up-to-date virus software available from McAffee, my computer became infested with Trojan worms, which eventually occupied 1.5 GB on my computer hard drive! Running the anti-virus program was to no avail - the little beasties remained stalwart and resistant to infiltration, spreading their noxious threads throughout the length and breadths of my computer's functioning. Icons sprang up on the desk-top, and not particularly pleasant ones. For example, a woman's burgeoning breasts in a push-up bra with the heading "Love" beneath the icon - something that you would be surprised to see on any professional's desktop, even that of a sex therapist. More frustrating still was the fact that I couldn't delete them. In response to attempts to delete, the worm would spew forward ever more of these inappropriate icons. The computer was becoming unusable. It would close down the Word program in the middle of typing a letter to a colleague, prevent me from running virus software, and was making my office life extremely difficult. I didn't dare email anybody from the computer for fear of transmitting the virus/worm around my address book.

A family member who works in Information Technology suggested that I try PlumChoice.com who have secure online computer support. Initially, I couldn't log on to the website for Plum Choice. The newest Trojan worms have code that prevents you from accessing virus software sites or online computer assistance. It took me several tries to get to the site, mostly as a result of running McAffee to "distract" the worm, while simultaneously signing on to the website. I don't know how or why but this seemed to work. (Can you tell I'm a therapist and not a computer expert?) Anyway, I am a PlumChoice.com convert! I signed up online to receive remote computer support, which consisted of logging on with a remote technician, who proceeded to fix most of the computer via remote control. Nothing is more amazing that sitting back, with hands in your lap, watching the cursor move around your desk top as the technicians clear up the mess on your computer. Remote control via the web allows them to see and interact with the computer while you watch. So, while this is not a psychotherapeutic topic for a blog, it is at least my attempt to spread the information to anybody struggling with these awful viruses that there is help at hand!