StopBadware.Org

Over the weekend something weird happened to the Web places that I go to… and even to some of my own Web Stuff. Things like the Blogspot places that I deal with suddenly were flashing warnings… something about “Badware” BAM – we were hit by some pretty weird stuff. Everything dealing with Google was affected. And Google being the very big, if not the biggest, search engine on the Internet – it pretty much affected everyone!

To get some idea of what happened consider this. A program was launched by Google to help people consider the site they were looking for – as they searched for something – or as they opened the potential problematic Web Site. There are bad sites that are trying bad things as you come to visit their site. Google had a plan to help stop that.

The problem was the action that they took zapped every site – good or bad with a warning. Google’s warning flashed that this Site has potential Malware… whether it did or not. To solve this – or get by this message – you need to go to another site.

Well it wasn’t every Web Site – just 170,000 Sites all across the great spectrum of servers that were affected the worst. But for a half hour – every Site was tagged that way.

It has been fascinating to read about. The problem is far reaching. The “techie type” persons will understand but the average person will be affected deeply by a “scare” like this. One little error on the part of perhaps one small group – or even one small person – actually one click of a mouse – before all things were considered… messed up a whole lot of people. WOW! And potentially it has affected millions of dollars in revenue for some people – in that so much is done on the Internet.

As I have been mulling over this recent event I have thought about my small world.

I know a couple that have endured horrible things at the hands of good Christians. On one occasion some one called and shared something about the wife of this couple. It was first very untrue. Secondly it was deeply damaging. Third it was so powerful that they moved from the place they lived in and relocated to another community entirely – forced to start over.

One wagging tongue by a dear sister destroyed the whole family. Yes I said “dear sister” because it happened in the church world. Someone inside of church made some personal calculations and then shared their take on what she felt about it all. Only trouble was the “busy body” knew nothing of what this lady was about. In one wag of her tongue she destroyed potentially four lives.
There should be a place in the community where you can hang up “dear sisters” and “busy bodies” for everyone to see. In the old days they placed the bad people in the Stocks at the center of the city for everyone to pelt with rotten vegetables. Today we use too much frozen food – so that won’t work… but…?

In another more recent situation that I was faced with it unnerved me deeply. The attack was on me. When it comes that close it can drive you insane! You really don’t want to go back – because of what people might say, might have said, or have actually said about you. You want to put as much space between you and them as fast as you can.

The whole confusing effort falls under a title I give as “Human Malware” You can also call it Gossip, Sharing, Lies, Inflammatory, and downright Destructive Attitudes.

10 years ago this month a horrible man started a rumor that Pastor Murray(that’s me) teaches from the Satanic Bible. No kidding! That really happened. It spread like wild fire across the religious community that I served in. Within days other pastors in our community called to ask what was going on. The rumor was all across each church. The pastors realized how defaming the rumor was and called to offer help.

For the next year in every one of our church Board Meetings I had to answer questions as to what really happened, what was said, what was done, why the questioner thought this insinuation was hurting our church.

It all started with one man that was a control freak. His intent was to control me. First he was my best buddy. Next his wife tried to be my wife’s best buddy. Then together they tried to force us to make certain decisions. The very first Sunday we were at the church they began by taking us out for lunch.

We should and noticed then what was happening. They talked about every person in the church… told all kinds of stories to “help” us know the way it really was.

Both my wife and I felt very uncomfortable with what they had said and the way they had done this. So we quietly started pulling away. Within two months from the initial lunch together he started to smear us. The Satanic Bible issue was only one of the many rotten stuff that he threw our way. He openly tried everything he could to “kill us”.

In one circumstance in his own work place his own hatred surfaced to a perfectly innocent person. This little dude was a Cable TV installer. While he was visiting one home to install the Cable Service he stopped his work and asked the lady a point blank question. His words were, “What church do you attend?” She gave a faltering answer and asked him “Why do you ask?”

He then proceeded to rant how she should never consider attending Northview Church(the church that I pastored) because of what the minister does – yadda, yadda, yadda. The dear lady called our church and spoke with a staff person, “I don’t know what is going at your church but this is what has happened….” She proceeded to tell everything that the bad little Malware Dude has said and done.

She also called his employer… who then acted accordingly – he was demoted… disciplined and then later got his final “promotion”. He called it early retirement and moved far, far away.
I have personally witnessed what Human Malware can do – and felt it too.

Google’s problem happened when one person clicked it through – launched it to fire through the whole of the Cyber World. We see that they simply had not been careful.

Murray’s problem was worse and so was the problem of the whole church that I served in. One man started a terrible destructive path that eventually would be felt even today – 10 years later. And the church still goes on feeling it.

Murray’s problem is even worse – in that he cannot undo the damage. Neither can Google.

Suggestion? Watch out for miserable little Malwares that can destroy everything.

~ Murray Lincoln ~

Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10155028-83.html

Check out my first post of my VLOGING
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ywN8ZlcxE