Ignore it and it will go away

05 Apr 2010
Posted by Marisa
Marisa's picture

There was a bit of a todo last week about my computer.  For a long time now I have been bringing my own laptop to school to use instead of the ancient, scary Korean machine that sits on my desk.  I of course plug into the school's network so that I can be a part of the hip and happening things online.  However, recently the network had a security update and my presence was discovered; at least they (correctly) deduced that "Marisa EEE" was me.  I don't think anyone really has a problem with me using my own computer, as I have good reasons for using it, but apparently I had a virus, at least the system update had detected one. 

I know that viruses are out there, but I am married to someone who knows at least a thing or two about computers, so I figured I was safe from such an infection.  I showed the computer man my virus program, of which he was dubious and decided we needed to run a Korean virus scan.  This gave me a little panic because you really have to watch out for Korean programs because they will dig into your computer and become impossible to root out no matter how hard you try.  But I had few options, so I said okay.  The virus scan scanned and determined that I was virus free.  This led to some discussion, and later it was reported to me that another virus program should be run.  Double cringe, will my computer ever recover from this?  Second scan also declares that my computer is healthy.  Another consulation is held and it is determined that you can never really trust a foreign virus scanner (of which only the first, the one that I use, is one), so we'll try yet another virus scan.  At this point I have really given up hope on my computer ever working again, and to at least make me feel like it was all worth something, this virus scan also came back with a clean bill of health.  Computer man then tells me (through my coteacher) that some sort of reformatting will be necessary to rid my computer of this super stealth virus (which at this point I have decided is a figment of the system update's imagination).  

When I relate this story to Jordan he of course says it's ridiculous, especially since he's the one who will have to reformat my computer.  But, and this is the point of the story, I reminded him that before we start making big warpath type plans, we should remember that in Korea, whenever someone tells you something bad and/or crazy you are best off ignoring it.  Because 10 times out of 10 whatever has just been told to you will never happen.  And today, when I tiptoed back to school after the weekend and plugged my computer in it was allowed to connect to the internet (after being banished the previous week due to its "virus").  No mention of anything from anyone about anything, everything was just back to the way it was.  And so, once again, "ignore it and it will go away" proves a successful way of life for the foreigner in Korea.