In a word: virus. I really thought it was the end for me a couple of days ago. My PC got the most evil virus (something I just couldn't get rid of as my comp wouldn't even start properly) and I thought I'd lost everything. It actually occurred whilst I was finishing my work for the day. I had never been so stressed in my entire life - all that hard work! Fortunately, my data was salvageable (for a small fee of £50 - I'd have paid 10 times that!) and work loss has been minimal. I should soon be able to replace the work I lost - phew! Big relief. Anyway, I've learnt something extremely valuable...from now on, everything I do will be backed up online.

oh no what a complete nightmare!!

i had abit of a scare early this week too, so took out two days to backup my computer, upgrade my antivirus software, do a complete scan, treat any virus..

at the time, it seems its sucking up valuable time you could be working on your thesis. but backing up and other stuff, does pay off in the end.

glad to hear you managed to salvage your work! what a relief.

Get a MAC - they don't get viruses.

Ouch! I read this message late last night, and backed-up immediately.

I use a WD passport external drive for back-ups. I don't back-up online, but that's a very good idea.

don't you have a firewall? There is a free one: avast, very easy to use.

Well, I'm almost back to normal with my work now. I've recovered the bits I lost. Thanks for your suggestions r.e. how to avoid virus infections. I'd love to get a mac and one day I will when I can afford it (so that's quite a few years yet!). Tomfinland, I do have a firewall and good antivirus software, but this infestation was evil, and ironically, it made having my computer infected an even worse experience. I watched in despair as it my antivirus went: virus detected, virus detected, multiple viruses detected. Unfortunately, it just told me I was doomed and didn't help me out!

oh no! that's worst nightmare. do you know how you got the virus?

i'm suprised, considering you have a firewall and antivirus software. that scares me that no one is safe then!

It could be the P2P software that I use, I'm thinking. And then there's malware that can open 'backdoors' I've been reading. Whatever the case, my PC's like a fortress now (not that I'm turning into a tech nerd)with setting for my antivirus software and firewall turned to nuclear, so I'm just hoping it never happens again.

smart move! common firwall softwares do check P2P dataflow, so no worry. I use bt and emule constantly..