Is the India scammers more interested in getting money from me or reading my email? Other than family pictures, there is nothing on my computer that would be remotely interesting for these monsters.> I was thinking that I would start up the computer tonight and “see” how/if it works before I disconnect from the Internet. I’m hoping that since “she” said she would call me back on Friday to download the software (when she’s expecting payment)that they have not yet locked my computer. I’ll disconnect the Internet and her busy on the phone for awhile and then tell her my computer crashed and I have a blue screen....If I disconnect from the Internet, they would have no way to lock my computer, right?
True, but it could be timed to "lock" in a few days or so whether or not it is connected. The reason why I suggest disconnecting is because when it is on the network it is their computer, not yours, plus malware can automatically download newer, worse malware and run it.
Whatever they want to install is already on your machine. When you went to their website, it automatically downloaded and installed itself, and anytime you are connected to the internet, that software can contact them and transmit information to them, or download more bad stuff to install.
You should take it for granted that they are logging every key you press and mouse click, taking screenshots of what you do on the machine (whether you are connected to the web or not), and intercepting any data that your computer sends/receives on the internet. Normally, all that would be transmitted occasionally to their server, but if you stay off the internet until you can clean the computer, then any data they gather will be wiped out before they can receive it.