calliopes_pen: (sirius_nst Jeremy Brett Holmes research)
calliopes_pen ([personal profile] calliopes_pen) wrote2012-02-29 09:51 am

Tornadoes At 5 AM, And Other Drama

5 AM, woke to Mom saying tornadoes were on the way. In under 10 seconds, I managed to change into day clothes and get in and out of the bathroom. And then the sirens started. Along with 60-70 mph winds, hail, sideways rain, funnel clouds spotted on the highway. It all stuck around until a little after 7 AM.

My best wishes go out to everyone in Marion, Illinois and anyone else that may be dealing with this weather, since if what I’m hearing is correct, Marion has been wiped off the map. There’s damage in numerous other areas, as well, but I likely won't hear how extensive it is until the noon news.


Something on a far lesser scale of insanity: Thanks to the pop-up from Comcast that (as of now) never goes away, and blocks my view of pages unless I can shift it over, reading websites is going to be interesting. They seem to think I have a Botnet called DNS_Changer. Usually, this thing goes up once a week, since I changed my DNS. Because the ones they provided for me were seized by the FBI. Last time we attempted to discuss the DNS issue with them, they only suggested I scan for viruses, and were baffled when I told them what I used.

The most logical course of action would be to uninstall their support suite. Which...I’ve never had installed in the first place. Given the problems with Norton, I refuse to install that—it’s something that their website always suggests to me. Next step is likely to attempt a battle with customer support. Just in case they have their script that’s pointless, I’ve written up every step I’ve done. Everything I use to block things, every firewall. DNS addresses from when everything went weird back then, as well as now. I kept track of it all. PC Tools Internet Security. Malwarebytes (as of this morning, which comes up clean). PC Tools Performance Toolkit.

My LJ’s banner is large enough that the pop-up covers it. Thankfully, the pop-up doesn’t normally follow me as I scroll. So at least I’m still able to look at what’s going on through my friends list.

For reference, this is the message: "Malware known as 'DNS Changer' has infected your computer and is directing your web traffic to malicious DNS servers.

The Primary Account holder must call Comcast Security Assurance* for instructions on how to fix your computer and to remove this alert from your browser."

*Removed their phone number.

(Oh, nice. I hit random icon, and the exact one appropriate to this post came up.)

ETA: I stand corrected. Marion was hit hard, but not wiped off the map. Harrisburg sounds like it was--names were being confused on the news. 200-300 homes and businesses destroyed in Harrisburg, and the windows were blown out of the hospital. 15 are dead so far.
weesam: (Default)

[personal profile] weesam 2012-03-01 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Wow, those tornados are brutal. Hope you and your loved ones remain safe. I feel for those poor people caught up in them.
ext_9031: (Art - Lily Pond)

[identity profile] ithildyn.livejournal.com 2012-03-01 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
I'm glad you're okay.

[identity profile] meret.livejournal.com 2012-03-02 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
I'm glad you're okay, and I hope you can get the computer issue resolved soon! *hugs*