The computer security world is in suspense as the clock ticks down toward the April 1 climax of the potentially nefarious Conficker worm. The worm targets a vulnerability that Microsoft patched last October, but it has continued to spread to unpatched machines, which are set to use peer-to-peer technology to "get further instructions."
Security researchers aren't sure what will happen. In the meantime, one good resource is USA Today reporter Byron Acohido's Last Watchdog blog, which has been tracking the worm and offering tips to see if your machine is infected. See Microsoft's security page for more.
A "60 Minutes" report Sunday night stirred up additional concerns about the worm, but the Wall Street Journal's Ben Worthen, for one, cautions that it's possible that people are overreacting to efforts by security companies to drum up business.
"No one knows who controls Conficker, so it could be controlled by terrorists," he writes. "It could also be controlled by the kid who played Urkel on 'Family Matters.' "
Microsoft last month formed an alliance to fight the worm, and offered a $250,000 reward in an attempt to find the people who started it.
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