How Could I Be SO Stupid!

Be careful, it's much safer to use a credit card, as you aren't usually responsible for fraud should it occur.

Edit: just read others saying the same thing.

One guess I have is that the pirate software sites are usually don't double as credit card fraud centers.

I had a boss who would buy pirate software from those spam emails. He was a multi-millionaire but couldn't help himself when the temptation of saving hundreds of dollars on software that he had heard of, but that nobody in his company used, came along.

We'd get these burned discs in the mail, or he'd download the programs etc, and that was that. The sites would disappear after some time but we never got hit with other charges as a result.

Hopefully, this was just such a case for you, and they were only selling pirated software.

How did u get the virus ?

This is the site. This is what they 'guaranteed'. Fully functional versions. Download only. So far, all I've gotten was the option to use the 30-day demo since they never sent a serial number so it looks like I paid for the demo, which is usually free.

Except they haven't charged your card, so you haven't paid for anything yet.

Most honest retailers don't charge until they ship the product. I have had a charges come through a month or more later when a product backorder finally comes in for them to send to me.

BUT...

These kind of websites pop up all the time. They are up for a couple of months and then disappear to reappear under another name. They usually hold and sell volume licenses, academic licenses, or a Microsoft subscription that gives them limited licenses at a low cost. What they are doing is a violation of the EULA on their part but the software will usually work just fine if they send you a key. They could also be selling stolen or cracked volume licenses. Microsoft and other vendors will turn off the keys they own and sell if they discover the fraud. That may or may not affect the license you bought when your program tries to update itself. It could turn off because of the pirated key or it might work forever.

Before you buy from any website, search for reviews. If you can't find any or they are only for the previous month or 2, don't buy from them unless you are willing to take your chances.

Doesn't make any sense to me. I'd just call the credit card company and tell them you want to cancel your credit card (and if they ask why say because they s*ck). Then get another card at a better company.

My husband has become annoyed with my questions about his account and has assured me that he's got the situation fully under control. So I'm done with it.
Once again, thanks to everyone for your advice.

My best guess is that the babysitter opened a program that said it was going to update Facebook. When I got home from work, all the virus and firewall alarms were screaming.