No, I don’t have swine flu. Not even a cold. My computer’s been sick, however. More specifically, this blog. And it’s all my fault (I know, hard to believe). I got hacked!

Several weeks ago, I decided to edit my blog’s style sheet to make the blog titles smaller. For some reason, I can’t edit the style sheet from within the WordPress dashboard. It always says it’s not writable or something. I don’t know if this is because I installed the blog using Fantastico, or if it’s an idiosyncrasy of my website host. I have edited the style sheet previous to The Debacle. Successfully. However, this time, I missed a velly important step.

If you need to download your style sheet using a program like FileZilla (which is what I use – recommend it!), you need to change the permissions on your host. What are permissions, you ask? It’s a series of three numbers that essentially tells your host WHO (or, in the case of robots, WHAT) has access to your files. Who can tangle with them, so to speak. Who can screw them up. In other words, by changing the permissions so you can edit the file, you’re leaving yourself open to a security breach.

So…an intelligent person would change the permissions only as long as needed to edit the file and re-upload it. Then the intelligent person would change the permissions back to their previous state AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

Now, I’m not saying I lack intelligence (although it could be argued…). However, several weeks ago, due to brain drain or too-much-to-do-itis, or what-have-you, when I uploaded my edited style sheet, I forgot to change the permissions back to their original state.

It took awhile for the hacking robots to find me (maybe it was a human, but I think it was a robot). Around the middle of October my domain emails suddenly stopped forwarding to my private email address, because my Internet Server Provider has blocked my domain addresses. This has happened before, and my host’s support staff usually gets it fixed within a couple of days. But this time it wasn’t fixing. I couldn’t figure out why.

Then, about ten days ago, I checked my domain webmail and discovered several emails from Google informing me that my website appeared to be a forgery of a U.S. banking institution and was trying to get browsers to input financial information. Everything looked okay on the site. I couldn’t see this forgery page, so what the heck was up?

I contacted the web designer who coded my blog for me when I couldn’t do it myself. She reminded me of the permissions angle. Yikes! This is when I discovered my own stupidity. I went into my blog files on my web host and did some sleuthing. I discovered a WordPress theme on my server that I could not see from within the WordPress dashboard. I asked my web contact about it, and she determined that it was the phishing page. She removed it and quarantined it, and just the other day I contacted Google to let them know all was fixed, so could they please remove the phishing notice some browsers get when they try to visit my blog?

I have no idea how long it will take to get the notice taken down. Whether you see the notice or not when you visit my blog seems to depend on your operating system (Windows or Mac) and your virus protection program. If you can read this post, then you’re not having an issue! However, some Mac users are getting 404 errors (page not found) when they try to visit my blog. Windows users of Trend Micro are getting warnings not to visit my blog and/or my site. Users of AVG and Norton’s don’t seem to have a problem visiting the blog. I’ve had one report from a McAfee user who does have a problem, and AOL users might have problems.

At this point, there’s nothing else I can do but wait for Google to take down the phishing notice. Meanwhile, I personally contacted my ISP and explained what I think happened to lead to them blocking my domain emails. Unfortunately, because of the hacking, the problem was too entrenched to get fixed over a tech phone call. They told me to contact my web host again and ask the host to get in touch with them. I did that, but, again, it’s a waiting game.

So let this be a lesson to you! If you do your own blog tweaking, for Pete’s sake, return the permissions to their original state as soon as possible afterward. Don’t take after Cindy, no matter how great the urge!

I’ve been locked out of my website since Monday night when I couldn’t remember the password for one of my domain email addresses, the one that’s supposed to forward email from my blog to my personal email addy. I’m finally back on-line.

However, I’m still having a problem with two domain emails not forwarding to my personal email addy. My ISP has blocked them as spam. This means I don’t get any notifications of comments unless I pop over to the blog to visit, and I don’t get any of my Facebook notifications or fan email unless I remember to visit the webmail versions of my domain email address. It’s very aggravating.

When I designed this website and Penny’s site, I made sure to only have an email address on one page (the Contact page), to cut down on spam. And then I used an email addy jumbler. But it doesn’t seem to have helped. After about 18 months, the spammers found a way to use my addies anyway. Or maybe it’s because I use both domain addies on Facebook and MySpace, and they got to them that way. Whatever, my personal ISP currently likes Penny’s email but not Cindy’s email. I’m trying very hard to remember to check Cindy’s webmail at least once a week, if not more often. But the whole thing ticks me off.

When I get a chance, I’ll replace my email jumblers on both websites’ Contact pages with an image of my domain email addresses. Maybe that will help.

I’ve had one of those weeks where issues like this have chewed up a lot of my writing time, so you won’t see me around here until next week. I’m hosting guest blogger and historical romance author Anthea Lawson on Tuesday, November 3rd, and she’s giving away three books! She’s giving two books to the first name I draw (rather, that the Randomizer draws…) and then she’s giving a second copy of her new release to another lucky commenter! So make sure to pop by on Tuesday for double the chance to win.

A couple months ago, I began having problems (on my end) with www.museinterrupted.com redirecting (or pointing) to www.cindyprocter-king.com/blog. This began after an update to Internet Explorer 8, the web browser I most frequently use. I didn’t always use IE. I used to be a steadfast Netscape Navigator user. So you’d think I would have gravitated to Firefox rather than going backward to IE. It’s the web designing that got me using IE again, simply because, at the time that I redesigned this site and built one for Penny, it was the most popular browser and therefore it was (and still is) very important for me to ensure that my websites look decent on IE.

I am trying to remember to use Firefox, and soon hopefully I can turn my IE habit into a Firefox one (I’m more inclined to use Firefox now that the Facebook Scrabble game isn’t glitching on the browser like it was for me all summer). When I do use Firefox, I don’t have a problem with the redirect to my blog not working. I type www.museinterrupted.com into the browser, and it brings me here like it’s supposed to.

I need some testing from my blog readers so I can learn if this is just a glitch on my end or for others as well. If you use Internet Explorer 8, how do you usually arrive at my blog? Via www.cindyprocter-king.com/blog or via www.museinterrupted.com? If you type in the latter with IE 8, do you get a Page Can Not Load Error (or a variation thereof)? I’m assuming IE 7 doesn’t have the problem, because I never encountered it before I upgraded to IE 8. However, if you have the issue with IE 7 or any other browser, please let me know in the comments section. Thank you!

When I’m talking about my blog on other sites or Facebook, etc., I find it so much easier to refer to www.museinterrupted.com, not only because it’s a shorter URL but because then I don’t have to worry about browsers mistakenly typing a dastardly second O into my name (as in Proctor-King, excuse me while I barf), which definitely won’t bring them here.

Please test by opening a new window and typing www.museinterrupted.com into the window at the top. Don’t test by clicking on the Muse Interrupted links within this post, because, strangely, when I preview this blog post the darn links work. It’s when I type the URL into the browser window that I get the error messages on IE 8.

Thanks!

I’m a writing fiend this week. Or, rather, Penny is. Her new (and in fact first) ER “short” is motoring along. I’ve found it a little challenging focusing on the, ahem, subject matter with my adult/teenage kids and their S.O.’s in the house, but I’ve managed. I can now see the ending in sight. Yippee!

Now, I’m not the type to impose word limits (by that I mean expectations) on myself, because I usually wind up disappointed, because of the affliction that causes me to revise and edit as I write. Whenever I join a goals group or some such, I get bogged down in the requirement to produce new writing. To me, if you’re revising it, that makes it new. However, usually in goal groups, “revising” didna = “new.”

For those who like the crack of the whip, check out Write or Die. Let me know if it works for you.

As the countdown to the RWA National Conference in Washington, D.C. begins, I find myself surprisingly glad that I’m not going. Okay, maybe I’ve just talked myself into it, but after two years in a row of attending National, I’m ready for a break. Typing this, I realize I’ve never attended National three years in a row. I suppose I will some day. This year, given the cost of flying across the continent, the fact that neither I nor Penny sold a project in ’08, and because I’ve attended National in D.C. once before, I don’t think I’ll miss it. I’ll miss seeing my Looney Bin and Scrabble buddies, Tina Ferraro and Diana Duncan, attending the RITA ceremonies as nominees, however. Wouldn’t it be cool if they both won their categories?

As for myself, I’m looking forward to continuing to write instead of going crazy prepping for conference. The money I would have spent on new conference clothes can go toward the new stove instead. Last week, I began a new story for Penny, her first “short.” Wrote 3800 words on Thursday, I think it was. Aside from the year I participated in NaNaWriMo, that’s a record for me. Am revising them now before proceeding with writing new stuff. Target market requires 5000-15,000 words, so I have a lot of leeway.

Meanwhile, my cindpk ST is sitting and gathering inspiration. Depending on how Penny’s short story goes this week, I might dig into revisions on the cindypk in another week. Two at the outside. I don’t want to leave it sitting too long.

I signed up for Carbonite last week, an on-line document backup system. I really like it, it’s easy to use, but my desktop is 4.5 years old, and, alas, I fear Delbert is too slow for Carbonite. I’ll have to allow my trial to expire and return to using flashdrives.

With the weather so nice lately, for the first time in my writing life I’m really feeling the absence of a laptop. Especially now that the household budget has recovered from buying each of the kids a laptop for high school graduation. And, also, the cost of those new netbooks is rather tempting. If I sell something this year, I might indulge in a netbook or a small laptop. I prefer my ergonomic desktop keyboard, but the portability of a netbook/laptop is carroting in front of my eyes.

A heads-up, I’m blogging at Nobody Writes It Better on Wednesday, July 1st, which is Canada Day for those not in the know. I’m giving away a paperback copy of my Canadian-set novel, HEAD OVER HEELS (by the way, if you visit that link, the upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 seems to have affected some spacing issues on my Books pages. I’ll have to fix that one of these days).

I’ll post a reminder about the book give-away Wednesday. How is your week shaping up?

Last night I downloaded Internet Explorer 8 as part of my automatic updates package. Then I visited my blog. Argh, there’s a vertical line to the right of my header. Does anyone else see it?

Also, sometimes when the blog loads, I not only get the vertical line, but graphic elements in the left of the header and around the rollovers are affected, as well. Strangely, when I pass my mouse over the menu rollovers, the graphics correct themselves, and then I only have the aggravating vertical line to the right of my header.

I see IE8 comes with a “Compatability View” button at the top of the browser to the left of the Reload button. If I click this button, I don’t have the issues with the out-of-place graphic elements, I only get the aggravating vertical line. But then what does that mean to other browsers out there? That my blog will look all messed up unless they have clicked that Compatability View button as well.

I’m really not impressed. I’ve updated and checked all my other browsers (Opera, Firefox, SeaMonkey, and Safari) and of course Internet Explorer 8 is the only one that creates this problem. Unfortunately, it’s the predominant browser of use, so I need to ensure my site displays correctly in the dratted IE. Ergh, argh, triple-Bill-the-Cat gack!

I’ve contacted the web designer who did my blog coding for me when I could not manage it myself. Hopefully she can get me out of this mess.

American Idol went my way last night. Phew. Was a bit stressed there that Allison Iruheta would get sent home, but in the end Anoop Desai and Lil Rounds got the boot. I must say, watching KC & The Sunshine Band perform made me feel very old! In my day, KC weren’t no grampa.

How is it possible that Disco Week made me feel nostalgic for the Seventies? I didn’t like disco when it was popular. I couldn’t do any of the dance moves. Utterly uncoordinated was I. And let me just say it’s a blessing that most of the Idol contestants updated the arrangements of the songs this week. If all of them had sung the Seventies versions, I would have “Erked” my way through the entire episode.

In case you’re interested (of course you are), Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey and Allison Iruheta were my favorites this week. Even though Danny didn’t change up “September” a lot, his voice was amazing. Although, I have to ask, since when has “September” ever been considered disco? Seventies music, yes, but not disco. Disco didn’t consume the entire decade, after all. As for Adam’s performance, I felt he got a little teary-voiced for my tastes, but I still loved his song. Thought Allison was Da Bomb.

Didn’t get any writing done yesterday. Youngest Son and I had to take a journey to a neighboring town. Piccies tomorrow. Driving home alone (whatever happened to my child?), I believe I was listening to the CBC. YS is always changing my radio stations! What does it say about me that my 18-year-old listens to the CBC while I routinely tune in the Top 40? Erp. At any rate, I caught an interesting interview on Spark about a computer program called BumpTop, designed by Canadians, I believe. Anyone heard of BumpTop? Anyone use it? It’s a program that changes the way you use your PC’s desktop. Apparently makes it act more like a “real” desktop, arranging your documents in piles instead of structured filing systems. If you have a moment, check it out. I plan to, after I finish the WIP.

It’s motoring along—thanks for asking! I’m looking at a week, maybe two, until I type THE END. When I do, there’ll be much fanfare on the blog, believe me. I totally love this book, but it’s time to move on to new projects before my 2009 Goals List starts eating itself from the inside out.

What’s your news?

Yeehaw, my months-old-problem with Windows XP updates refusing to install is now solved! It only took eight hours with two different levels of Windows technicians to fix the issue yesterday. My computer must have been a mess. However, thanks to Priya and especially Ronnie I am now a happy camper with Service Pack 3 installed after the techs first cleaned up the mess that was preventing the install of SP2 updates.

Poor Priya. She tried her best for two hours, but then had to upgrade me to Ronnie, a senior service technician. At about the four hour point with Ronnie, I was losing hope that my issue could be resolved without a reformat. Everything reached a happy conclusion 30 minutes before Ronnie’s shift ended. All in all, a satisfactory result to a day packed full of energy depletion. Yes, I am still sick, feeling quite groggy and dizzy, so I couldn’t write yesterday, anyway. Might as well sit at the computer for eight hours while it gets fixed. Ronnie began communicating with me through Notepad while he fixed the issues from his end, so I managed to clean up all the mail and other various household thingies that had accumulated in my absence. My desk is still a mess, however. Grocery shopping and bill payments today, then I’ll tackle the desk tomorrow. I’ll also start uploading conference pics tomorrow plus give my impressions of conference along the way. Yes, I know I’m late doing so, but it can’t be helped. I must regain some semblance of health.

I’m sitting here wondering why it took so long to fix my computer. I’ve never had a problem installing updates until this spring. However, I think I know what happened. One Friday night in the spring, around the time SP3 came out for Windows XP, my Norton’s was running and doing its thing while I was either checking email or working in Word. My Liege was downstairs working on his laptop and told me that some huge update was coming in. Was it coming in on my end as well? I don’t know, but whatever was going on, my computer suffered a major crash. I had to use Norton GoBack to save it. Now, I didn’t immediately notice that I was having problems with the automatic updates, so I can’t say for certain that the problems were related to this crash. However, I have heard Norton can bungle the works in some ways (and of course I heard this right after renewing my annual subscription), so I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it had a hand in things. I still think it’s very strange that I could install Office and Outlook updates (I don’t use Outlook, but the updates come anyway), but not Windows updates. Whatever, the issue is now resolved, and I have been assured it will not (um, should not) occur again. We shall see. Cross your fingers for me!

Oh, a note to anyone dealing with Microsoft XP SP3 tech support. The telephone tech support for SP3 issues is free until April 2009, so if you’re having problems, take advantage of it like I did. I now very much regret that I WASTED (yes, in capital letters) at least 4 weeks trying to fix the problems through email support. My email support person vanished a few weeks before National, and I was too busy writing to deal with the problem then. I have no idea where she went. My case was not passed to a new tech, my emails just suddenly started bouncing and then began going unanswered. My tech must have gone on extended vacation. Using the telephone support was MUCH more satisfactory.