It's that special day of the year when the dead walk the earth. No, I don't mean a Microsoft Developers Conference, I'm talking about Halloween. In honor of my favorite holiday on the calendar, here are 10 things any sane person ought to be afraid of.
1. Zombies. Not the flesh-eating kind that stagger across the screen on "The Walking Dead." Botnets like the "indestructible" TDL4, which has created a network of more than 4 million zombie machines, are wreaking havoc across the InterWebs. Now zombie "socialbot" networks may soon be attacking Facebook. Talk about your brain drain.
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2. Bill Gates. Anyone catch Bill in a suit and tie on CNN, looking statesman-like as he waxed philosophically about how he didn't care that Steve Jobs dissed him and claimed to have co-created the Mac? A grassroots "return Gates to Microsoft" movement sprang up last year, though Sir Bill dismissed such thoughts in an interview last June. Still, never say never. Like a vampire, Gates could rise again.
3. Goats. Republican candidate Jon Huntsman found this out the hard way, when he was bitten by a goat on a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Both the candidate and the animal survived. Good thing it didn't bite Herman Cain or PETA might have had to get involved.
4. Angry birds. According to Google trend analysis, the pissed-off avians will be among the most popular Halloween costumes this year. Also in the running for top costume is another kind of angry bird: the black swan costume from Darren Aronofsky's ballet film of the same name. For your own safety, please do not dress up as an egg-stealing pig or Mila Kunis.
5. Angry nerds. Becoming a target of Anonymous certainly ranks as one of the scarier fates that could befall you. What's worse: Being forced to share house arrest with Julian Assange.