Conficker lurking in updates?

JB writes:

Dear Woody,

Is it good to take Adobe Flash player updates? And is AVG 8.5 Free better than AVG 8.0 Free? How do we know these updates aren’t polluted with conficker?

Yep, it’s always best to install Flash Player updates, Adobe Reader updates, Java updates, and the like, when they’re offered. Why? If they’re screwed up they generally won’t bring your computer to a grinding halt, and the manufacturer typically gets new updates out quickly. I won’t mention QuickTime by name.

If you use AVG 8.0, you should upgrade to AVG 8.5.

I can’t imagine any way Conficker could get into any of those updates.