Okay, I'm officially pissed off - my home computer is now infected with a parasite that has spawned tons of pop-up ads, myriad offers to resolve the problem, and alerts from Microsoft trying to advise
me about how to tackle the situation. Trouble is, I couldn't close any of the windows or shut down the computer. The ads wouldn't close. I am frustrated.
This is my first encounter with an adware
infection and it sucks.
I think I know what triggered the problem. Earlier this week, I was surfing the Web looking at the filmography for Paul Giamatti, whose career is soaring with the indie hit
"Sideways," in which he plays a schlubby, down-on-his-luck teacher/novelist who attracts the affection of a waitress/horticulture student.
I also checked on Clive Owen, the darkly handsome
English actor in "Closer." I landed at IMDB.com, the Internet Movie Database site, segued to some other entertainment-related sites and wham, the adware-spawned pop-up windows began multiplying like a
plague of locusts.
If only I'd stuck to my regular lineup of sites and Web surfing path!
I'm now collecting advice on how to handle the problem.
By the way, we hope to see many of you at
MediaPost's party tonight for agency of the year. At the Yale Club, we'll hand out special awards to the winners in the "traditional" and online media agency categories.
Congratulations to the
winners.