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Now that I'm back in the office, and have had time to get up to speed on the havoc this worm is reportedly about to wreak on the globe . . . I still can't manage much more than a yawn.

Don't get me wrong. I take security seriously and I have no doubt that there will be some problems reported on April 1, the reported trigger day for the Conficker 1 virus.

But let's look at the facts. If you are running a fully patched system, with the latest security update from Microsoft, you have little to worry about. Secondly, if you are running any of the antivirus software programs from the major vendors (and no doubt the smaller vendors), you're also covered.

In other words, if you are doing the things any responsible computer user should do - updating security patches and running antivirus software - Conficker is a non-issue. It's little wonder then that more than half of virus infections, according to a report issued by non-profit security research body SRI International, are in China, Brazil, Russia, India, and Argentina - regions known for running pirated versions of Windows.

In a recent report SRI stated the following:

Why Conficker has been able to proliferate so widely may be an interesting testament to the stubbornness of some PC users to avoid staying current with the latest Microsoft security patches.  Some reports, such as the case of the Conficker outbreak within Sheffield Hospital's operating ward, suggest that even security-conscious environments may elect to forgo automated software patching, choosing to trade off vulnerability exposure for some perceived notion of platform stability.   On the other hand, the uneven concentration of where the vast bulk of Conficker infections have occurred suggest other reasons.  For example, regions with dense Conficker populations also appear to correspond to areas where the use of unregistered (pirated) Windows releases are widespread, and the regular application of available security patches are rare.

Perhaps I should be more concerned than I am about Conficker, but the bottom line is I only want to hear the sky is falling when there is a real concern for people who are protected by antivirus software and who aren't running stolen versions of software.

Comments (3)

	1. 04-01-2009 12:38
	Agree that most computers in North America are unlikely to be bothered by Conficker, but you're missing the larger problem. If the author of this virus chose to attack computers in North America, say try to overwhelm eBay or Amazon, they could do so with the reportedly millions of computers infected overseas. The program could be used to send email spam, distribute malicious software, or execute denial of service attacks on Web sites or networks.    That's the real danger, and why, in part, Microsoft offered a $250,000 reward earlier this year for information leading to the arrest of Conficker's author. Registered

Kazmarek

	2. 04-01-2009 17:05
	Your point is taken, but here we are most of the way through doomsday and there have been virtually no reports of problems associated with the worm. In fact, most of the coverage has been about people downloading bogus security software to protect themselves against Conficker. My opinion is the security industry does more harm than good when it cries wolf over a virus that will most likely have no impact. The next time a real threat comes along, people - and corporations - may not listen. Registered

Mel Duvall

	3. 04-02-2009 19:47
	I must really not get it. Dale Meyerrose, the former CIO for Intelligence under the Bush Administration is quoted as saying, “If the government and the media hadn't been on top of it (the Conficker virus), and if people hadn't taken it so seriously, it would have been much more serious than it was.”    OK, vigilance is a good thing, but according to reports the Conficker virus doesn't appear to have attacked anything yet - so media vigilance and so-called government actions (what government actions?)haven't been tested yet. Registered

Mel Duvall

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