What is perhaps the worst computer virus ever created is due to launch on April 1st, All Fools' Day. Many online sites report that millions of Windows PCs are already infected with the Conficker virus which is now in hibernation, waiting for April 1st to wake up and inflict damage.
I'll skip all the technical discussion about this virus simply because thousands of other web sites already have that information. For details, look at: http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=conficker&btnG=Google+Search&aq=1&oq=confi.
After reading what seems like hundreds of dire "warnings," three things seem obvious:
- This is a serious problem for millions of Windows users, especially those who do not keep their systems up-to-date with the latest security patches.
- It is a trivial problem for anyone who keeps their Windows system up-to-date with the latest patches from Microsoft and then also has a modern anti-virus program installed AND then updates the anti-virus program every few days.
- This is a non-issue for Macintosh and Linux users. Only Windows systems are affected.
Here's my advice: update your Microsoft operating system and your anti-virus updates NOW.
If you are one of the millions of Windows users who do not yet have an anti-virus program installed on your system, please read my "Free Anti-Virus Program" article at: http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/05/a_free_antiviru.html.
This article was written on a Macintosh laptop.
