Conflicker and the news media

by Dan Strom on April 1, 2009

I guess that the news media just needs to have something to report.

It was that way with Y2K, also.

What starts out as an interesting topic for a story suddenly becomes the Top News.

This article at techweb.com has a very interesting paragraph…

This nonevent, however, is apparently news, if the volume of commentary coming from security researchers and echoed in the press is any measure. Thanks to the rise of news aggregation services like Google News, once a nonevent reaches critical mass, every industry observer and media outlet is more or less obligated to weigh in.

In other words, if everyone else is reporting something, there is pressure to report on it also.

Numerous computer viruses have fallen into this category. So did Y2K. So does Conflicker.

Individuals and businesses should very carefully evaluate what is said in the popular media and compare it with reality before panicking.

As is printed on the cover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, “Don’t panic!

- Dan

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Dennis Toll April 1, 2009 at 4:05 pm

Now wait! I thought this worm was the precursor to the end of the world in 2012.

Warren Parker April 2, 2009 at 3:06 pm

Glad my computer didn’t blow up like the media told me it would. Thanks for the info.

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