History Has Been Made… A Page Has Turned… Dr. Bill Gets a Computer Virus!

Now, I am no “typical” computer user. I know better than to download warez and evil files. I don’t click on e-mail attachments… ever! And, in my 28 years of computer experience, I have never had a computer virus hit MY system! Until yesterday. I still haven’t had one on any of my personal computers… but at work, yesterday afternoon, I when to a very bland, ordinary web site. The next thing I know, my system was shouting about a virus… and I had 122 files infected. We use Sophos Anti-virus at work, and it caught it and stopped it dead. But… it was embarrassing! Me! Me, the Doctor, get a computer virus? Why that is unthinkable… totally ridiculous! But, it finally happened. And, as I have been thinking about it, it makes me mad!

I was one of those kids in school that had a perfect attendance record for years! I mark records like that… I was proud of my “I’ve never had a virus” status. Now, boom! It is shot! Any why? Not because of stupid downloads or stupid clicking on attachments… no, it is because of a very ordinary, innocuous web site that had a mechanism to launch a virus attack. Now, let me say, my system is always fully patched… and up to date on all virus signatures and security patches. And, it didn’t cause my system at work any “damage.” Other than to my pride. Sigh.

To my view, we have entered a new age… an age in which even the most computer savvy among us can, indeed, get a virus… there are just too many sites out there that have these “built-in” attack systems. It is a clarion call to be more vigilant, and more serious about computer security.

And I am giving serious thought to adding virus writing to the list of capital offenses. OK, maybe… maybe, that is overkill. Maybe.