Time sink...

As I was answering email a little while ago, I noticed that something was accessing my MyBook, and it wasn't anything I was actively running, or my antivirus, or Google Desktop. Calling up Windows Task manager showed explorer.exe to have glommed nearly half a gig of memory and using 50% or more of the CPU's cycles.

I've thus stood down on my intended work and am actively scanning for viruses, bots, malware, and other nasties.

Rats.

Cheers...

UPDATE: Hupigon 13?! I am suspecting the USB drive that was the source of my previous problem as the likely vector.

Rescanning...

Experience has shown that deleting malware using applications like Ad-Aware or Spybot often do not eliminate particularly pesky critters, and the results of Googling "Hupigon13" suggested this was not going to be a simple critter to croak. So, I'm rescanning webster with Spybot and scanning MyBook with AVG (and thus, there is a downside to owning - and very nearly completely using - a 1-TB drive... the time required to scan for viruses!).

While waiting for the scans to complete, I slipped down to the Ace hardware store to see if they had Presto Part No. 9907, a sealing ring for a model 7-A pressure canner (mine is so old, the pressure gauge has the name of the National Pressure Cooker Company - now Presto, apparently - and the cover still has the old-style overpressure plug, which means I need to be particularly careful when using the unit).

They did have such an item, which means that the idea I had of canning some of those Hatch green chili peppers is feasible. (I suppose I could have also canned them in a boiling-water bath, but at 7800 feet, boiling water may not be hot enough, in my opinion.)

Another 8K words have marched in the door, which precluded my accepting an interpretation gig in California next week. Ah, well...

Spybot reports a successful rescan. Task Manager shows explorer.exe consuming about 1% of the CPU's cycles and making do with about 37 MB of memory, which sounds much more kosher. I will endeavor to return to work.

Cheers...

In for a penny...

Another 2800 words came in over the wire since my last post, due over the next few days, which I accepted. And despite all of the hullaballoo over who or what was poking around in my data files earlier this morning, I've managed to translate nearly 3,000 words (and intend to get at least 1,000 more done before turning in for the night).


(And before I hit "Post entry," it turns out I've manged to translate 1400 more words. Go me!)

Cheers...

P.S. And another 600 after posting this!