Considered the “scourge of the Internet,” a software virus that has infected millions of computers is set to trigger today, April Fool’s Day.

John Hellmann, owner of Oak Harbor’s “The Computer Clinic,” told customers yesterday not to panic. The date will probably come and go quietly.

“If people do priority Microsoft updates, they should be protected,” Hellmann said.

Conficker, the computer worm, is suspected to have come from Eastern Europe or China. Infected machines are said to report back to the creator’s of the virus today. They will trigger the program and send spam, spread more infections and cripple Web sites.

“The virus is basically trying to put together a robot army. My assumption is it will be an extortion against major corporations,” Hellmann said.

Of course, it could also be an April 1 joke of some kind.

Researchers say the virus has done little but spread over the last few weeks, and has no clear financial motive.

People in Oak Harbor, and around the world, could have picked up the virus from suspect links, emails and unprotected computer networks.

Yesterday, Microsoft was offering a patch to remove the virus, and anti-virus Web sites provided free security downloads.

Regardless of the media attention, including exposure on “60 Minutes” Sunday, and the over two million mentions of “conficker” on Google, Hellmann does not expect his business to pick up today.

“From what I’ve read, they expect more than 50 percent of the cases to be from other countries, where pirated copies of Windows are more prevalent,” Hellmann said.

Pirated versions don’t allow people to use Microsoft updates, which makes systems more susceptible.

Hellmann also said not to expect the city or schools to face cataclysmic network failure.

“The head of the IT department, Bruce Roberts, does a good job of keeping the district up-to-date. They won’t have much of a problem,” he said.