A Connected World, An Infected World

Trey Brown

1/24

5:10

In a world of ever increasing worldwide internet connectivity and the added communication that becomes possible there lies a threat waiting to be found -- viruses. Everyone knows about them and tries to get programs to stop them in their tracks. But just like the technology made to stop them keeps evolving, so do they. It makes it even harder to stop them when the operating system (OS) most of the world’s users use, Windows, has a flaw that makes computers even more susceptible to infection. By utilizing the windows autoplay feature that searches for programs on removable drives, such as flash drives, a worm virus known as Conflicker (aka Downadup) has become a major problem. It acts like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, seeming to only be another folder in maybe one of your friends flash drives where it may have downloaded itself. Then when clicked on and opened, installs itself and attempts to access a preset server in its programming. This preset server could be one of many and might be one such as Google. Accessing this server could lead to the download of another program that would enable someone to remotely gain control of your entire system. It is estimated that over 9 million computers worldwide have been infected with this virus. There have even been high profile cases involving the UK Ministry of Defense and hospitals across much of Sheffield.

In a world of ever increasing connectivity, does it bring us closer or just expose us to threats we never considered to be so huge a problem. Almost anyone with an internet connection and even those without them knows what a virus is. They are actually fairly common place like the common cold, but like the plague sometimes you get one that makes a nuisance of itself and spreads like wildfire. During these times of constant and unceasing internet use, you don’t really have the choice not to connect, too much information and opportunities rest upon your ability to connect. In these times, when even governments have trouble handling things, you just have to except the danger and move on.

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