How Is a Computer Worm Like a Pack of Cigarettes?

You’ve probably already forgotten about Conficker, the computer worm, since it declined to wreak havoc as feared on April 1. Rest assured, Conficker has not forgotten about you. It’s currently operating on millions of computers around the world, and it’s still spreading and changing. Nobody knows what it will do next. As Bruce Schneier points out, the worm isn’t any less dangerous today than it was on March 31, the peak of Conficker media hand-wringing. But without a certain day of reckoning, we’re happy to put off worrying about the risk it poses. Kind of like how we’re happy to pay $9 for a pack of cigarettes that, in the long term, actually costs $222. [%comments]