Conficker was supposed to devastate the PC community today, this April 1st 2009. Not since Y2k has the world braced for such an impact to their digital lives. Yet, as with Y2k, Conficker didn’t seem to have much of an impact. This doesn’t mean it won’t pop up next week, or even next month, and it certainly has the ability to do a lot of damage. But on this April Fools day, Conficker actually helped.
I have never received so many phone calls from friends and relatives asking about what to do to make their computers safe. Even co-workers were scurrying around this morning, asking about their antivirus and what they should do to protect themselves.
It gave me a chance to get on my soapbox and recite my speech about turning on Automatic Windows Updates, installing a keeping an antivirus current, and about what’s safe and not safe with email and the Internet. When a virus like Conficker gets actual air-time on news channels, it helps to remind people that security is a daily battle and keeping computers free of infection is something we all need be educated on.
So thanks Conficker. You can go back to sleep now. Hopefully, we’ll never hear your name again.
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