From Bill Coppock
Jim Giles’s report on the Conficker worm (13 June, p 36) reminded me that I have always thought antivirus software, and indeed Microsoft Windows, shares many of the characteristics of a computer virus. After all, it distributes and updates itself on a population of PCs. That the vector of distribution is retail outlets is merely incidental.
I use one of the antivirus packages mentioned in the article, which is Russian in origin. Others are American or based in other countries. In the event of a decay in international relations, what is to prevent the use of these platforms to launch a cyberattack into another nation’s cyberspace? It is surely on someone’s agenda: Conficker your enemies.
Edinburgh, UK
