Hacking Update, Safety for You!

After two days of trying to sort everything out, (it still isn't), I ran into a friend that is a very smart techie.  She is a certified Hacker herself, which she uses in her job to hack back at people that try to hack her companies website and/or computers.  So after telling her the brief synopsis of what happened and how I thought that it occurred she told me that it was most likely NOT my phone being hacked.  That is technically more difficult and most evil (my term, not hers) hackers go for the easy kill. 

My techie friend said that most likely they came through my computer.  I was shocked.  No way, I said, I am so careful.  She asked if my firewall is up.  If it is not, they can access your computer and see everything!  Of course, I had firewalls.  She said that having two firewalls up is like having two locks on your door, most thieves won't bother going through two, but they will go through one.  It is apparently not that hard.  I came home and I did have two, windows firewall and my Norton Antivirus also had one.  She suggested ZoneAlarm Firewall which is free.  I put that on also.  So now I have three.  Bring it on evil hackers.  On second thought...don't. 

When I got home and started talking to Mike I gasped.  It was HIS computer!  I had just used his in the last week to check my email.  And he doesn't keep his laptop from work current.  No antivirus and only one firewall-which the definitions were not up to date.  AAAGGGGHHHH!  Mike said, "Ooops!"  So I spent the next hour or two downloading the free Norton Antivirus from our Comcast account, updating and scheduling automatic updates for his windows firewall and then installing the ZoneAlarm firewall too.  My friend will be coming over later this week to hack back at the person(s) that did this to us and get back at him.  In a very legal way of REPORTING them to the POLICE.  Jerk(s). 

She is also going to help me get encryption for my computer passwords, because did you know that there is also software out there that they can put on your computer to record all of your keystrokes, send them to themselves as a text, and steal your passwords. I will pass that information along to you later also. 

Sleep well my friends.  Hopefully my pain will become your aid and protection.

Oh, and don't use your husbands computer if it isn't protected. 

I've been hacked...

I am really careful with my electronic information. I really am careful not to fall for scams (I apparently have inherited 45 million dollars thus far from some lawyer in Nigeria), click on links that my friends send me that seem suspect (as in they are for things that they would never send to me because of the content and somebody seems to have hacked their email). But I never thought that it could happen to ME!

Yesterday morning as I am getting ready to leave and take the kids to school I get a call from a friend asking me where I was right now. "Home," I responded. "Okay, someone has hacked into your Facebook account and is chatting with people telling them you are in London (I wish), were robbed, Mike's arm is broken and you need them to wire money." AHHHH! I was horrified.

First, I hardly ever post on Facebook. I am much more likely to comment on other people's posts. Second, I never have my chat enabled, I would rather call and chat or text with people. Third, I have trouble asking anybody for money, even when it is for a good cause, let alone (heaven help me) for myself. (I have no problem giving to good causes) It would have to be a very bitter pill I had swallowed for me to be chatting people up for money on Facebook. No matter what the situation. There are other venues to go through.

Ironically, right before my friend called, my Facebook account wouldn't load to my phone. I had just seen that, but thought, oh, it is having issues. NO! It was hijacked by a really mean person (there are stronger words, but I digress). I got on Mike's Facebook and told them where they could take there business and to stop doing what they were doing when they promptly un-friended and blocked Mike. (How rude to do that to "their" husband). Then I found out that my email was hijacked too, (oh, that is why it wouldn't authenticate on my phone either) when another friend had called and let me know that they had started to use my email contact list. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Let me tell you how hard it has been to get control of that back. Still working on it.

Let me just say that I am learning a lesson here. First of all, don't judge others when they get hacked. Not that they did, I was just dumbfounded at how it could happen. Secondly, have stronger passwords. Thirdly, and possibly most important for security, when you get a smart phone, be careful of what applications you download. I truly think that this is how I was finally compromised. Read what the applications can track and have access to before you allow it on. I deleted everything off of my phone that was not original and will slowly and carefully add things back on.

In conclusion, so far, to this horror story...I am truly sorry if you were asked for money from any source claiming it was me. I am also so grateful to all my friends from Kansas to Arizona to California and here that called, texted, and contacted Mike to let us know what was going on. To those that love me so much that they wanted to send money, I love that you love me that much. If you sent money (and I pray no one did)...I truly have NO idea where it is.

Back

If there is even anyone out there that is even looking at my blog anymore...I am back. I think. Life got crazy after school started and then blog post ideas started to mount in my head. Sad things happened and I just didn't have the desire for awhile to do it. However, I am finally back. All the things I have wanted to post about, I am going to go "back" in time and do it. Mainly for my sake as this is virtually, no literally, my only record I am really keeping of what is going on in my life. The kids love it too and have been asking me, "aren't you going to blog about this?" They love going back and looking.

Hopefully you will enjoy my blogs, or just skip them and go forward with me from here, or just glance at the pictures. Whatever. But if you were wondering, if you cared, I am back. :)

The Kitten Girl

Mid Oct 2009

Once upon a time...there was a girl who went to Shopko and came back with a kitten. This short story is to tell you how that came about.

Over the years, I have told the kids they have a budget for birthdays and Christmas, so give me their list from most wanted on down so they really get what they want. Katie has had only a few presents the last few celebrations, but you know, hasn't felt less loved. She knew the deal and she got what she really wanted. So, soon after her birthday in August, Katie told me she knew what she wanted for Christmas. If she only got one thing, and she got this, she would be fine and happy. Katie was totally setting me up. "Okay Katie, what is it?”

"I want a cat."

Long silence......"That isn't happening Katie. I don't do cats." My kids over the next few months decided I didn't like animals. Which is so not true. I just didn't want one more body to have to pick up after.

After days and weeks of pestering, I finally told Katie and Christian, "If you want a cat, you can. You just have to keep your room clean for a whole month, with no missed days." Translation...you will never have a cat while you are living in this house. I know, I am horrible.

Fast forward a few months later. We had mice get in the house and Mike didn't want me to use decon, so it persisted for longer than it should have. One day I said to the kids, "The only way your prayers are going to be answered on getting a cat is if these mice aren't gone in the next couple of days." Katie must have gone on a prayer binge. That weekend we went up to Logan for a wedding of some awesome friends from Oregon. After the wedding we went to Shopko really fast and on the way out I saw a boy sitting outside giving away "Free" kittens. I didn't say a word to Katie and she didn't see. Then, so quietly, I tell Mike that there were free kittens back there. Katie shouted, "STOP THE CAR! STOP THE CAR! I JUST WANT TO SEE THEM!" All while she is also opening the door of our moving car. So we went back. I mean, it couldn't hurt to just look. What a sucker I am. So we pick them up and look at them and hold them. And Katie looks up at me with her big brown eyes that I fell in love with 11 years ago that she got from her dad and I look at Mike who is sitting in the car. We pick out a cute grey 6 week old tabby kitty with big blue eyes. I fell in love with that cat on the hour ride home. Katie named her Mittens, not because she looks like she has any, but because our friends the Ostler's have a cat with both paws that look like mittens and the name to go with it. Hilarious. She is a cutie. Oh, and that free cat. $100 later that day and more in vet fees to get her fixed, yeah, there is no such thing as a free cat. It has been so worth it though.

I am now a former hater of cats. In fact, I love them. I am really a cat person. But I thought I was a dog person. In fact, a few months later in March, we got a second cat. His name is Crookshanks. We decided on the name before we got him. We were planning on getting an orange tabby, but when we got the the animal shelter and sat down on the ground to see who would come to Christian, it was another grey cat. He is all grey on grey though and a Russian Blue looking tabby. He is a cuddler, which we love.

(Right after a nap, his eyes aren't actually kitty-whompus)

(You will take a picture little kitty! I had nothing to do with this picture by the way. Can you say stolen camera?)

So I guess, the lesson here is, never say never. Oh, and by the way, we haven't had any mice...so it is still safe to come and visit. :)

No animals were harmed in these "films" ;).

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

Having just moved to Utah we had the wonderful opportunity to go and see the Oquirrh Mountain Temple before it was dedicated and put to work. At a Temple Open House anyone can go in and have a tour of the temple. Mike was very busy last summer and we had a hard time finding a day that he could go with us to see it. It was the first time my kids had ever been inside and even for members of our church, when you do go, you don't just wander around as there is work going on in all corners of the Temple. We finally went on the very last day of the open house. One of the very last hours you could go in. I watched the blogs of my friends all summer long showing their families in front of the temple after they had been inside. They were from Arizona. It seemed like everyone I knew had gone. Here we are living an hour away and we barely made it. But we did.

Mike and I had been doing yard work all day and finally ran inside to get ready at the last minute. When I do yard work, I tend to leave the kids to fend for themselves. After we were in the car driving down trying to make our scheduled time (we didn't, but apparently it didn't matter) the kids started to whine about food and being hungry. But after telling them that we really needed to go and I am sure we would be in and out in less than an hour, they stopped. We got there and watched a movie that explained the purpose of temples. The spirit really touched me even though I had not even set foot inside. It really set the tone. It was so beautiful inside. It was a really crowded as it was the last day, but we were really glad that we made it. It being packed, it went a little too slowly for Christian, but he made it and got the reward of some yummy cookies in the end...which was close to 3 hours after we left the house. Had I known the ease of us getting in and how long it was going to take, we would have stopped for food beforehand. Those kids were troopers. They finally got a meal and a memory of what they are looking forward to in the future blessings when they get to go and be married there like Mike and I did.

It was a beautiful day and I am so glad that we got there, even if it was at the last moment. If you ever get a chance to go to an open house, go! It is free and just a wonderful place to be!

Sweet Dreams, Katie.