6 posts and columns on Conficker

Voices

Conficker and What Really Confounded Silicon Valley

in News on April 10, 2009 at 3:38 am PT

There are computer hacks, and then there are REAL hacks, like of the saw variety. Silicon Valley got a wake-up call in the latter variety Thursday, when vandals hacked into fiber-optic cables beneath the ground, knocking parts of three California counties offline.

Voices

Conficker: Relax, Take a Deep Breath and Chill Out

in News on March 31, 2009 at 4:32 am PT

The Conficker computer virus continues to make sensational headlines, mostly of The-End-Is-Nigh variety. Most recent news accounts–most prominently a feature on CBS’s “60 Minutes” Sunday–are portraying Conficker as some unstoppable force which will melt the world’s computers and maybe destroy the Internet on April 1. There’s a kernel of truth to these reports, but just a kernel.

Voices

Conficker: Don't Believe the Hype

in News on March 26, 2009 at 4:59 am PT

You may have heard about Conficker, the rogue computer program that might do something dreadful on April 1. The truth is that the threat posed by Conficker is almost entirely theoretical, and that only a handful of dedicated professionals will notice anything out of the ordinary when that date comes around.