WANNA CRY? Chill for 3 weeks--EVERY PC computer is slow, due to international ransomware crisis.

There's no need to join the queue at MicroCenter in OP, or waste too much of your personal computer guru's time.  And there's no need to cry.

Will the WannaCry ransomware seize my baby photos?

The world is at war, a computer war.  Between some very smart hackers working with a crime syndicate all over the world.  They are hijacking major websites and demanding millions in ransom be paid in three days, or that government or bank or Great Britain's National Health System loses all their backups and access.

And get this, the required WannaCry ransom is to be paid only in Bitcoin.
Worse yet, some desperate sites have actually paid the ransom!
And worser still, (as my niece says), the men from WannaCry ransomware have learned a thing or two from Big Pharma, and they offer payment plans or scholarships if you can't raise the dough in three days to start your extortion payment plan.

Read SLATE story about WannaCry ransomware here

This issue is so "yuge" that instead of his usual Sat. am tweets, while his Jewish son-in-law, The Jared, and Trump's daughter/wife,Ivanka, were at temple, Trump actually phoned other countries' leaders, trying to settle this problem.  Including not protecting known cybercriminals in their respective countries, but collaborating in tracking them down.

Now personally, I have nothing worth hiding on my PCs.  And I don't have any Bitcoin.  (And since it's virtual currency only, the plural is bitcoin, not bitcoins.  Though I do believe some were actually awarded to a local data storage bank, NetStandard, the brick fortress on Merriam Lane--which won a manufacturing and storage contest worth 25 free Bitcoin, for completing complicated math problems in record time.  But that's another post.  I read it in the New York Times.  So it must be true, at least to someone who used to be a Democrat.)

But back to pain.  I am finding my PC quite slow.  How about yours????

In the morning, my coffee is cold before the PC and in particular Gmail will open up.  And searching is as slow as dial-up.  (Dear millenials, you have no idea how tough life used to be with dial-up internet access.  Stop your whining.)

What to do about your slow PC???
MY computer guru, Rick Peterson at Brand-Central Marketing, told me to just chill. Google and Microsoft have way bigger problems than not-so-little and not-truly-old me.  They are saving the free world.

In the meantime, mostly to feel like I am doing "something", I have become obsessive about two tasks every day, sometimes twice a day.  No, it's not brushing and flossing.  I do that four times a day anyway.

I use CCleaner.
And I clear my browsing history.

I also pray for geezers who are still using unsupported Windows XP which lost support 3 years ago, before we were forced to convert to Windows 10.  (read one of my earlier posts to find out how to do that now, for free, if the 'Windows 10 free upgrade link' still works.  You must post as "disabled" as in "need glasses".  Not much of a stretch, considering most people and their ethics.)

That's all I got.  Oh yeah, and doing butt crunches while I search.

Buns of steel in Shawnee.
Tracy "Patience" Thomas.

Yup.  Patience is my middle name.

Windows 10 upgrade still free: to those with "Assistive Disabilities". So if you used glasses to read this, it's not too late!

Whew.  There is a benevolent God.  It's not too late!!!

Windows 10 free upgrade, for Windows 7 and 8 users, technically ended last Friday, July 29.  Yikes, I thought it was gonna be the actual END of the month, which was Sunday!

Well, I discovered ONE of my old laptops hadn't taken the upgrade. I had clicked upgrade, but it failed to load.  Panic!  Not gonna buy an upgrade for a backup unit.  Then I read about the loophole.  And it's not asking you to lie.  Technically, glasses are an assistive device according to someone. After all, it's mandatory to disclose on your driver's license.   You do not have to even answer the question.  Just get to the free link.

Click here for the free extended upgrade to Windows 10.

Now I was a skeptic, and a late adopter.  I waited ten months for fifteen millions of others to work out the bugs.  And I must admit, I do like Windows 10.  They fixed the problems.  None of my files disappeared.

And while I haven't used Cortana, I like Windows 10.  Which IS supported by Microsoft, whereas now Windows 7 and 8 are not.  Note to Luddites: Cortana is Microsoft's search engine, like Apple's Siri or Google's OK Google.  I'm a loyal Google gal.  And I despise Bing.

But in order for Cortana to work like Siri does on an iPhone, you must have a mike working on your computer, (I don't.  Neither a microphone nor a guy named Mike.)  And it creeps me out, knowing that the only way Cortana can listen to you is to LISTEN ALL THE TIME!  Like with a seven second delay.  Even while you are shouting at the dogs.

And yes, even when one is reading Savage Love columns out loud from The Pitch--you know, to improve your vocabulary and use of initials and public speaking skills.

Yes, Cortana!  Yes!!!  Search harder!  --said no one, ever.


And for the record, I now appreciate how HARD Tony works finding free photos to illustrate his great blog.

Now we do not know how long this back door free upgrade will be available.  Don't push your luck.

Tracy