Cable internet providers like to give you a high "burst" speed, then throttle it WAY down to stop you from downloading huge files all the time. They want it to work well for simple web browsing, but to be slow for big downloads so people will pay more for "faster" service. I stick with DSL, but I'm lucky enough to have options where I live, I guess. With DSL, you normally get consistent speeds, plus the ISPs for DSL tend to be less evil, unless you're in AT&T territory.
Anyhow, I read that conficker is probably being controlled by some Estonians black hats, based on an analysis of its recent activity...
I too am an update king. I slipstream 4 different OSes at my workplace.