The Conflicker Worm
For the past month, it’s been impossible to peruse the news without reading about the dreaded Conflicker Worm. You would have to have been in a coma not to have read that the Conflicker Worm would be launching some sort of major attack on April 1, 2009. But that date came and went with little Conflicker hoopla.
April 1, also known as April Fools Day, was the day that the Conflicker Worm was supposed to take over countless computers and perform its nefarious tasks. When I first read about it, it seemed fitting: a computer attack on April Fools Day. But now that the day has come and gone and nothing happened, I think maybe the April Fools Joke about the Conflicker Worm was really on us poor saps out here who use their computers a lot, but lack the technical expertise to ensure our systems are safe.
The Conflicker Worm scare prompted tons of press for companies selling anti-malware, and spawned countless websites to ‘help’ people cope with the alleged problems caused by the Conflicker Worm. Being the non-geek that I am, I visited a number of sites and read several articles about how to determine if your system has the Conflicker Worm. Most of the sites were, for lack of a better term, useless advertising vehicles.
The Conflicker Worm hype seems to fit the new model of information here in the country. Everything is based on fear. They even make the weather scary. If you’re going outside today, be careful of harmful UV • rain storms • lightning • drought • snow • sleet • ice – - just pick the one that’s right for the day in your area.
I’ve read a pretty good bit about the Conflicker Worm, and I still don’t really know what it does. I would be confident in saying that the Conflicker Worm takes over the host computer, and that it communicates with other computers that are infected with the Conflicker Worm, but that’s about it.
Now that April 1, 2009 is in the past, we are being warned about further possible ramifications of the Conflicker Worm. I just read that ‘experts’ are not sure what the intent of the designers/programmers of the Conflicker Worm really is. I also read that it will erase itself this May.
The experts don’t agree about what the Conflicker Worm will do or not do. They don’t know how it spreads. They don’t’ know what the reason for its existence is. They don’t know why it was created. What seems clear, though, is that we all need to take action to prevent our computers from getting the Conflicker Worm.
Myself, I’m tired of worrying about it and dealing with it. If my computer contracts the Conflicker Worm, so be it. Who knows, maybe it will put money into my bank account – despite the fact that I don’t bank on line. Better yet, the Conflicker Worm might just redirect all that spam I get back to the senders! Who knows…
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