The Dog is back

So, dear reader, we continue with the saga of the rabid dog and his angry antics. I finally detached his slobbery jaw from my computer’s virtual leg and was minding my own business, wondering how I was going to keep my family safe from some of the more unsavory junk on the internet, when I received a call from John Ahlander, who is one of the principles at K9 Web Protection, a division of BlueCoat. They are the trainers and former handlers of the guard dog that attacked my computer. He was very gracious and expressed his dismay at my predicament. He explained that there are over a million virtual guard dogs dispatched throughout the country, guarding families just like mine and that very few of them have turned on those families. Mine was a special case, with some unusual circumstances. He offered some explanations as to what happened to my dog and, after some discussion, we were able to narrow it down to a few things, but nothing definite.

Because the software is free, and because most all of the dogs are well behaved, there isn’t a lot of need, nor a lot of money to justify a large, extensive support staff, which I discovered when I looked to them for help. After discussing these items, we decided to run an experiment. I was going to download another dog and have a second go at it, so to speak. We are going to endeavor to tempt the dog to see if it will attack its owner again. If it does, Mr Ahlander has pledged his personal help, giving me his email address and business phone number. One can't ask any more than that from a company.

So, as we speak, the dog is wandering the virtual junk yard we affectionately call the internet, protecting my family from the virtual mail man in the event he tries to deliver Smut Magazine this month. So far, so good. The dog is doing his job, and we’re still able to use the internet. Well, kinda. We have another problem with a virus or piece of malware that is blocking Facebook and MySpace. We are currently in heated battle with this little devil using every weapon in our arsenal - AVG, Adaware, Spybot, and Malware bytes - to defeat and destroy this bad boy.

So, all is well that ends well. I appreciate Mr. Ahlander taking time out of his busy schedule to call me, some insignificant spec in the middle of nowhere, and offer his help. That shows a lot of class and devotion to service. In the end, I’ll have to retract some of my statements about k9 Webprotection and say that if you want to protect your family from the evils that lurk on the internet, K9 is a viable option.

Stay tuned to this station for a complete recap of our upcoming trip to Northern California to visit the redwoods, Pacific ocean, Oregon coast and impromptu family reunion in Eugene, Oregon next week.