PRadigm Shift

Worms, bugs and sub-microscopic infectious agents… Oh spy! 

Gross. And scary. April 1, 2009, is predicted to be the ultimate doomsday, seeing millions of locations infested with an insidious creature and a worldwide spread of viruses. But don’t grab your Raid bug spray or your herbal antiviral drugs (if you’re weird enough to take them). Instead, you’ll need to arm yourself with Norton Antivirus, McAfee, or another spyware/firewall software. Lucky me, I just purchased my Norton 360 today.

So what is it that has caused me to ramble on, scaring you half to death? The pandemic? No. But if any newspaper or online news source is interested in publishing my famous pandemic story — denied by the Daily Kent Stater a baker’s dozen — please feel free to contact me at alinvill@kent.edu. It’s an avian diamond in the rough. Okay, so back to the topic at hand, which is Conficker.

Get the Conficker off my compicker!

A malicious worm, Conficker, is being used by Internet thieves to hack into computers and extract owners’ personal (primarily financial) information. While evil Malware is no new Internet foe, the span and possible power of Conficker is what has users and even experts in a tizzy. On a 60 Minutes special, “The Internet is Infected,” it was reported that more than 10 million computers across the world have already been infected. So what does this infection mean? The problem is that experts aren’t sure, and as Conficker grows, its possible crushing impact grows as well. But the spy or spies who have created the fearsome worm have only added links, stretching it from computer to computer across the world, and have yet to set it into action. So, as Conficker lies dormant, we worry and wait for April 1 — the date Dr. Frankenhacker is predicted to release his creature.

“With one click, the worm’s creator can instruct it to suck sensitive data, like bank passwords and account numbers, out of millions of computers, or launch a massive spam attack to clog up the works. The newest targets of worms are social networking sites,” says a CBS article.

While browsing the Web for some Conficker news, I came across the PC World article about Internet searching, “Search for ‘Conficker’ Could Lure Virus.” Again, lucky me that I installed an updated Norton Antivirus today.  So a word of caution: Don’t visit suspicious sites in your quest for Conficker updates.

For more information, check out the 60 Minutes episode where Lesley Stahl reports on Conficker and the Internet experts battling the worm.  Below is part one of the series.  Visit YouTube for the full (not quite 60-minute) show.

What’s this got to do with PR?

Plenty.  This worm is being posted as a link on Web sites, including social networking sites, personal sites and even company sites.  In fact, corporate networks are currently the primary host of the bug.  Once the worm is on your computer, it records keystrokes, which means that it can decode your passwords to otherwise secure accounts.

So, here are some tips for PR students, professionals, and heck, anyone else who uses the Internet.

• Like I said before, try to refrain from typing “Conficker” into search engines, as it may cue up Web sites with the virus attached.  Not good.
• If you don’t have an updated antivirus program, invest in one.  If you run a Web site or a blog, it’s not very nice to put your clients, customers or readers at risk.  So let’s try not to spread the infection.
• Turn your computer off when you’re not using it.  According to experts, if your computer is inactive but logged onto a network for a long period of time, it is more susceptible to contamination.
• Don’t stop social networking, but if you see a suspicious link on Facebook – even if it’s from a friend – DO NOT CLICK ON IT.  If they’re a good enough friend, pick up the phone and verify with them that the link is good.
• If you’re buying something online, especially a large business purchase through a large business bank account, seek another method of transaction.  It’s really just not safe.
• You’re a PR pro, right?  So let your friends and family know about Conficker — especially those who may not be very tech savvy.  If you purchase an antivirus, see how many devices it can be downloaded to.  If it’s more than one, share it with someone.  They’re expensive and we’re all living in the same shaky economy.
• Aside from scanning your own Web site for any odd links, tell your clients to do the same.  Remember that larger corporations are at risk.  They should also check their internal networks.

Creepy, crawly Conficker

So, now that I’ve scared you half to death, I must let you know that there are those who feel Conficker is not the threat experts are predicting.  In my opinion, it’s better to be prepared than to be scammed.  And as for you, well, you can judge for yourself.