Monday, February 2, 2009

Curious Computer Conundrums

While I was sitting at my computer yesterday morning (typing Sunday Morning Football, Vol. 2), McAfee Security Center kept flashing on my toolbar. When I scrolled over the icon, a little window popped up telling me that my computer wasn't protected. I would then click on the icon to open McAfee. Once I opened McAfee, it would tell me "Your computer is not protected!" Right next to that, there would be a button that said "Fix." Once I clicked the "fix" button, it allegedly fixed the problem and told me that my computer was safe once again.

There was only one problem with this whole system - after about 10 minutes, the toolbar started flashing again, prompting the whole series of actions I had taken before. So, I followed the series of steps again, and, as it turned out, again and again and again. It seemed to be a neverending cycle of fixing my computer. While certainly obnoxious, there is something else curious here.

Why does McAfee prompt me to click a button to fix something, when that is my only option. Why would I not want it fixed. If McAfee knows the problem and the solution, why should I have to tell it to fix the problem. There is most definitely something confusing about that. Fortunately, this perpetual requirement of me to click a button to fix a problem has not persisted into today (knock on wood).

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