The only somewhat less awesome and cool facts behind the “You’re going to die, Jim,” story is this.  Google Chrome has what they call a “Sad Tab,” a page that appears when a tab crashes.  The page uses Dr. Leonard McCoy’s refrain, repeated 20 or more times on Star Trek episodes, “He’s dead, Jim.”

Here's the Sad Page from Google Chrome

This is what I think the mother and daughter of the two Jim’s saw on her computer screen.

I was a bit disappointed that we weren’t dealing with a hacker, but Jody thought it was still pretty cool.  I agree, it’s cool and fun of Google to play around like this.  Enough with boring.

Hacker typing "You're going to die, Jim."

A client was online. She was typing away on an email. Then her computer blue-screened. A message appeared across the screen, “You’re going to die, Jim.”

So immediately her husband called our shop (Ducktoes Computer Repair Shop) and told the tech Jody what had happened. “Awesome,” Jody said.

“There are two Jims in this house,” the husband continued.

“Even more awesome,”  Jody said.

“Not to her, since the Jims are her ten-year-old son and 86-year-old father.”

“I can see that,” Jody said.

The next day, the man brought the computer in and told me the same story. “Cool,” I said.

He told me how Jody had said, “Awesome.” Then he laughed and said, “What is it about Jody and you that you like this?”

I laughed. “Because we’re weird?”

He laughed again. He mentioned the two Jims in the household. “Not so cool,” I said.

We did virus and spyware removal on the computer. It did have some malware and spyware, a password tracker among others. We decided the computer had been hacked.

But then at home later in the week, my husband said this error message appeared on his screen: “He’s dead, Jim.” My husband worried he had a virus. Noting the similarity to what had happened to the woman, I googled the phrase.

And in my next post I’ll tell you what I found out.

An excellent way to prevent viruses is use Ad Block with Google Chrome as your browser. Since many viruses and malware are hidden in ads on websites, using Ad Block will really protect you. My son Peter uses Google Chrome with Ad block and has now stopped using an anti-virus. And he doesn’t get viruses. I don’t recommend stopping or removing your anti-virus but using Ad block inside your Google Chrome on a consistent basis, will keep your computer out of the computer repair shop longer.

Here’s where to download Google Chrome. http://www.google.com/chrome/

And here’s where to get the Ad Block.

And I don’t mean music, although operatic music is wonderful too. I mean Opera, the web browser. A reader of this blog (Italian, I think) said it was the safest browser out there. So I’m going to check it out. You can too. Click here to download it.

I still love Firefox. And highly recommend it. It may not be as safe as Opera but it is safer than Internet Explorer.

Are you still using Internet Explorer? Then Ms. Ducktoes will have to be severe with you!! You are courting disaster. Switch to a safer browser. NOW!!

Download Firefox or Opera today!!!

Using Firefox is one of the best ways to prevent spyware. And it is free. Since Firefox has far fewer users than Internet Explorer, most malware creators don’t bother with making spyware for it. They want to get the most bang for their buck and effort. So, since much less malware for Firefox on the internet, then Firefox is a very simple, surefire, and free way to prevent most spyware.

You still need to have anti-spyware, of course, even if you use Firefox. Read my guide on how to prevent and get rid of spyware.

Download Firefox here. I’ve made it easy for you; you don’t even have to go out on the internet find Firefox for yourself.. Just click the button and take the first step to reducing your computer headaches.

A browser is the software application you use to visit websites. You’re probably familiar with Internet Explorer. Yet other browsers are more effective for preventing spyware. This is partially because they’re not as popular, and the bad guy spyware creators don’t bother with them as much. Firefox and Avant are two good choices. I use Firefox but my nephew Philip swears by Avant. When I told him that I help people get rid of spyware on their computers, he was incredulous. Wouldn’t it be easier just to have them use Avant? he asked. He’s right, I have to admit. If everyone used Avant, I’d have a lot less work. Download Firefox and Avant and try them out, you may be converted!

And don’t worry, your Internet Explorer will still be on your computer, so you can always use it whenever you want.