Even you can be hacked

Thu Jun 10 17:29:27 UTC 2004

Does the water company fix your toilet if it leaks water?  Or do you call
a plumber?

Every consumer computer has a power switch.  How to stop a virus, turn off
the power switch and take your computer to a repair shop.

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040609.wispp0609/BNStory/Technology/

  A few months ago, Mike Bierstock, who runs a tiny property management
  business in Waterloo, Ont., found his office system had been compromised
  - either by a virus or hacker, he's not sure - and he was slapped with a
  terrific bill for the volume of traffic generated by his computer. His
  access provider forgave some of his initial bills, but did nothing to
  help him clean his system, so the problem continued. Ultimately the ISP
  killed his account, hitting him with a bill of $11,000.
[...]
  Mr. Liber simply declared bankruptcy. "They knew about the worm way
  before any billing had accumulated," said Mr. Liber, now senior account
  executive with iTel Solutions Inc. "They also confirmed that while they
  knew that there was a worm and that they knew it was not our doing,
  they [say] the responsibility is ours. Yet only they could have stopped
  the worm and the massive amount of bandwidth that was flowing through
  because of this worm."

Did your computer have a power switch?  Did you turn it off?  Or did you
continue to let it run up the bill?  Yes, even the complete computer
novice can stop a computer room.  Turn off your computer.  If you don't
know how to fix it, take it to a repair store.

If you leave your lights on, the electric company will send you a bill.
If you leave your faucets running, the water company will send you a bill.
If you leave your computer infected, ???