just a quick post to let everyone know that scruffy dog photography will be down for the count over the next few days.
like millions around the world we have been severely crippled by anti-virus software Bitdefender’s collosal f*-up yesterday. an automated update of what was once considered one of the top anti-virus programs left countless customers and businesses with thoroughly trashed systems as the update proceeded to annihilate critical system and application files for Windows, other programs, and including Bitdefender itself.
i’m sure someone at BD is losing a job this week … i’ll certainly be losing days of work while attempts are made to salvage my system … but currently it appears as though a complete reinstall of every program will be required. for me, this is much more than a few days of work … not to mention the extreme stress, as i have never been a computer whiz and rely heavily on the generosity of others to get this done.
so for those of you with pending orders, please bear with us. i believe i have contacted most of you by phone already.
as for Bitdefender … this situation affects customers who are using Bitdefender along with Vista 64-bit (not 32-bit) or Windows 7. however, if it’s happened to us … well, you decide whether you can continue to trust Bitdefender’s software.
MeredithHi, I am so sorry to hear about your loss but I luckily he had a great life with you. I am currently reading the book you recommended called Natural Animal Healing and working on my own Pet Photography. I was so glad to see Merrick and how you got him – you did the right thing and I know he appreciates it – hope to meet you one day!
Thanks for the inspiration!
baupSorry to hear about this disaster. I do not mean to upset you with my advise, but why are you as a photographer using a system that is not on par with your quality of work. Get a Mac! 🙂 – Life will be good again.
BTW if you are ever in Europe, I would love to have my pets photographed by you. You are the best!
illonathanks, baup. i have a lot of people asking me why i don’t use a Mac. there are several reasons … (1) my partner is PC-savvy and that’s what we’ve got in the house. it would be counterproductive to have a Mac and then the other systems in the house PCs … not to mention that i would no longer have my framework of support …. but the main reason (2) is that by using a PC i’m able to have it custom built, and the memory and speed my current machine posseses you just can’t get in a Mac (that i’m aware of).
but this isn’t an issue of PC over Mac … it was a once-reputable software company seriously dropping the ball and letting a lot of users down. maybe one day i’ll get a Mac, but for now i’ve got thousands of dollars sunk into my current system, and it really is a powerful machine.
illonamichelle, yup it’s my worst nightmare. i can’t allow myself to think about it … one day, or one program, at a time. just got the beast back tonight and can now start the long haul of loading everything on again. fingers firmly crossed.
karen, you’ve got a good memory. this is my THIRD rebuild in 13 months. i had a trojan back then and had to rebuild my system, then realized the system wasn’t enough to handle the bigger programs i’m now running so i had this new system custom-built … and here we go again. 🙁
karenDidn’t you have computer issues this time last year? Maybe March isn’t a good computer month for you! :o) – Hope all turns out well.
MichelleEwww, Sounds like my worst nightmare. Best wishes for working it all out as quickly (and sanely) as possible.