An Important Message from the Buttercupland Department of Technology

You see before you what appears to be an average iPhone...

But any second it could descend into the Twilight Zone!

 

Dear Citizens of Buttercupland:

 

This is an important message from the Buttercupland Department of Technology. Yesterday at approximately 12:30 p.m. I was contentedly sitting in the waiting room at a major Manhattan medical center, where I had accompanied a friend to outpatient surgery. Suddenly my iPhone -- very similar to the phone pictured above -- went berserk. Unbeknownst to me some bug/hack had started sending protected messages to everyone in my address book. First I got notices that came from out of office responses and then people I knew wrote to me asking if I had sent a protected message. 

 

After I got home last night -- my friend's surgery happily went well -- I started to change passwords. I kept changing passwords and deleting and reporting anything that looked odd this morning. The crisis seemed over and I was no longer receiving email about the problem. 

 

But, as the Grateful Dead remind us, "When life looks like easy street there is danger at the door." A short while ago I decided to check my email. I find I'm locked out due to "suspicious activity." I've sent an appeal and received a cordial response letting me know it will take time to evaluate my appeal. The customer assistance phone lines are closed until tomorrow morning. I have officially fallen into the email Twilight Zone. 

 

Lessons learned from this incident/mess:

 

1) Never attempt to open a "protected" email that you are not expecting. I have received one protected email in my twenty years of email, and it was from my orthopedic surgeon. It was clearly marked and I knew the sender. The only exception may be if you are part of an undercover network, but I am making that assumption based on my extensive reading of mystery novels and spy thrillers.

 

2) Change your passwords regularly. I actually do this, but will be as conscientious as I was during my working years, when we had to change our password every month. It's easy to be forgetful about the need to do this.

 

3) Don't click on a faux link. If you're unsure whether it's a "real" email from a bank, for example, go to the website and check for messages.

 

4) Have several email accounts. In the future I will be forwarding anything I want to make sure to access to my second account. I hope this doesn't happen again any time soon, but I want to be prepared for email Twilight Zone.

 

I'm not sure how this mess occurred. I do change my passwords often. I don't click on anything I'm unfamiliar with and I report anything suspicious. I have virus protection software which runs scans on a regular schedule. 

 

I'm optimistic that I will be permitted to access my account soon.  I'm eager to return from the Twilight Zone.

 

Stay safe and be prudent where you click!