By Bonnie Brown

Columnist

So, technology once again baffles me on a personal level.  My Google search engine just changed its appearance several days ago.  I thought it had something to do with an upgrade on my computer.  What I know about computers could fill a thimble and what I don’t know could fill an entire library!  

I noticed that my searches were quite different, and I had to modify my search inquiries quite a bit.  I like consistency in all things and this change was confounding!  But I muddled along until I realized that “Yahoo” had taken over Google as my search engine.  

I had to sift through several articles that mentioned that I likely had some malware.  According to what I’ve read, “browser hijackers,” a type of malicious software, take control of your browser and alter its settings to redirect you to specific pages.  Yikes!  

I ignored the change in the appearance of my search engine page (duh!) and finally realized that Yahoo was in charge of my searches—not Google.  Perhaps you prefer Yahoo, but I have used Google and find it to be a good tool for me.  I had to read through a few instructions to learn how to eliminate Yahoo and restore Google.  Once I was able to find the correct settings, I successfully restored Google, and my search engine page once again looked “normal.”  And I might add, my searches yielded the information I was seeking.  Google and I are a good team.

Which leads me to ponder what can be gained by a “browser hijacker” to insert themselves into my lil’ ol’ computer and mess with my settings?  I am unsure how this occurred but just to be sure my computer wasn’t infected, I ran a scan and all is well, I hope.  

I’m certain that there must be some significant reward each time that a change in browser takes place. But I realize that not everyone plays fairly in this arena.  And why is it “legal” that this can occur?  I get so frustrated when things happen and there’s no consequence to the perpetrator.  

It angers me so when I have had computer issues and have been “hacked.”  One time several years ago was very inconvenient.  While I was able to save my documents, I lost all my email.  And some of the emails were very special as in those that I kept from good friends who had passed, and I treasured those messages.  It gave me some comfort just to re-read them and have the same feelings about the person and the message when I did so.  

So many of us use computers on a regular basis and have few issues.  But when we do, it’s hard to find the remedy on our own, and it seems there are too few savvy computer techs to help the multitudes that find themselves powerless to correct something that has gone awry.  It’s almost a necessity that we each learn a little about troubleshooting our computers to correct an issue.  Unless of course you have a youngster in your household that can readily diagnose and fix the issue.  

I have decided NOT to ignore any change in the appearance of my log-in page and search engine page going forward.  And I would suggest that y’all do likewise.  We are so dependent on these machines to accomplish many tasks.  Make sure your computer is working for you not against you.