Larilyn's Tip of the Week:  Flash Drive Safety

Hellllllo!  It's that time again.  Time for me to give you another reason/example of why I am a complete nerd.  

The inspiration from this weeks post actually came to me while I was sitting down, enjoying one of my all time favorite things.  And that, my friends is....

I'm a sucker for song and dance, and lyrics that push the plot forward.  Cheesy, like Hairspray?  I'm there.  Deep and profound like Les Miserables?  I'm crying.  Hysterical like Spamelot?  Put me front row center!  

And so I was very excited to watch the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen.  I had heard great things about the stage production and just couldn't wait to see it for myself.

So I'm watching the movie....totally engrossed in the story and the beautiful music....and suddenly.  My worlds collide.

Do you know this feeling?  When two parts of your life that are completely separate and compartmentalized suddenly come together and you don't know what to do with yourself?  Like when your personal friends meet your work friends?  Or your D&D group meets your bible study group?  You know....general awkwardness all around.

In the movie, one of the characters sends a USB flash drive to different people in the mail.  Without any return address information.

And each one of these people plugs.  The flash drive.  IN.  

And all of a sudden, I'm no longer just enjoying a musical.  I'm suddenly the IT nerd who is needlessly shouting at the screen, "NOOOOO!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING???  DON'T PLUG THAT IN!!  YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM!!!!!"

And let's be honest....no one was more surprised than I was at how absolutely upset I was at this small detail in the movie.  But I was.  And I'm here to tell you, remind you, and plead with you.....never, ever, EVER plug in a flash drive if you don't know where it came from.  

I get it.  You find a flash drive and you want to see what's on it.  And it's one thing if it's your flash drive and you've forgotten what's on it.  Plug that baby in and take a trip down memory lane. 

BUT, if it's a flash drive you found laying around the office, or in a bathroom, or at the beach.....or if you receive it in the mail in an unmarked manilla envelope.....for the love of all that is holy, and to keep a shred of my sanity intact.....please, do not plug that sucker in!  You don't know what could be hidden in that small little piece of technology.  By plugging it in, you could unknowingly be giving complete access to your computer and network to a nefarian of some kind.

This has been a public safety announcement.  Because this is public.  And it's about safety.  I am Larilyn, and I approve this message.