Conficker worm set to go off April 1st!

[rudy-Diiriye]

You shouldnt have any problems with it if you computer is set to do security updates automatically...if not either do the update before 1:00am tonite or shut your system down for the whole day tomorrow if it contains important information for u.

 

SAN FRANCISCO - The Conficker worm, a nasty computer infection that has poisoned millions of PCs, will start ramping up its efforts Wednesday to use those machines for cybercrimes. It's unclear whether everyday PC users will even notice, but this is as good an excuse as any to make sure your computer is clean.

 

There are some easy ways to figure out whether a computer has the Conficker worm, and free tools available for getting rid of it.

 

One scary thing about Conficker is that it spreads without human involvement, moving from PC to PC by exploiting a security hole in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. The hole was fixed in October, but if your computer doesn't get automatic updates from Microsoft, you could be vulnerable.

 

Lots of computer worms disable antivirus software outright, which can be a tip-off that something is wrong. But Conficker doesn't do that. Instead, Conficker blocks infected PCs from accessing the antivirus vendors' and Microsoft's Web sites, so victims won't get automatic updates and can't download the Conficker removal tools that those companies have developed.

 

So see what Web sites you can visit. If you can navigate the Internet freely except for sites owned by Microsoft or antivirus vendors such as Symantec Corp., McAfee Inc. or F-Secure Corp., your PC might have Conficker or a similar bug.

 

Fixing the problem gets a little trickier.

 

The best remedy is to have a friend — whose computer is not infected — download a removal tool from Microsoft or one of the antivirus vendors. Then that person should e-mail the tool to you.

 

A list of the free Conficker removal programs is available on the Web site of the Conficker Working Group, an alliance of companies fighting the worm. The removal programs will take care of themselves, for the most part, scanning your system and purging the worm.

 

One thing to note: Conficker blocks infected machines from running removal tools with "Conficker" in the name. So users might have to change the name of the file (one you've saved the tool to your desktop, right-click on it and select "rename") before running it. The program's instructions will let you know if you need to do this. Many antivirus vendors have already changed the names in their removal tools — in some cases calling the file a misspelled variant of "Conficker" — to trick the worm into letting the program run.

 

 

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Businesses have a bigger challenge, because Conficker has yet another method for evading detection. Once the worm is inside a machine, it applies its own version of the Microsoft patch that fixes the vulnerability Conficker exploited in the first place. So a business running a standard network scan, looking for unpatched machines, might come up empty-handed, even though some computers on the network are infected.

 

The scans need to take a deeper dive into the machines on the network — something an antivirus vendor's service should enable. For government agencies, contractors and operators of critical infrastructure, the Department of Homeland Security also has released anetwork-detection tool for Conficker.

 

source: http://www.msnbc.msn .com/id/29975229/wid /11915829?GT1=40006

[Cara.]

Go to one of these sites to check if your PC is infected:

 

http://www.symantec. com/nortontheme.jsp? themeid=conficker_wo rminid=us_ghp_link_c onficker_worm

 

http://www.microsoft .com/protect/compute r/viruses/worms/conf icker.mspx

 

http://www.mcafee.co m

 

If your PC is infected, the worm won't let you navigate to the website. Isn't that freaky. The problem with just turning your computer off April 1st is that the worm isn't set up to only go off on April 1st, but any day after April 1st. When you do eventually connect to the internet, you'll have the same problem.

[rudy-Diiriye]

carabee! i tested all of them... best deal is down below. So check your system for it.

 

http://www.mcafee.co m/us/enterprise/conf ickertest.html

[Sherban Shabeel]

lol hope it doesn't steal my poems

[rudy-Diiriye]

u probably gonna lose your poems and grandpa Dracula's poems...lool.. if u dont get rid of conficker.

 

u know Somalia and Romania are the only 2 countries in the world that have names for Dracula that start with D...in somalia we called it dadqal!!

[Jacaylbaro]

It is the April fool ,, so i'm not gonna believe u

[rudy-Diiriye]

u got the tools or be a fool! this is not no apr fool 4 sure. This worm has been tracked for 2 yrs, u got not nothing to lose but be save if u got stuff to save.

 

site i provided take 5 min to clear your system so what u gotta lose but everything to gain. good luck.

[peasant]

hey PC owners run for cover the worm is here. lol

 

 

rudy does the worm infect macs as well?

[Geel_jire]

Originally posted by Cara:

Go to one of these sites to check if your PC is infected:

 

http://www.symantec. com/nortontheme.jsp? themeid=conficker_wo rminid=us_ghp_link_c onficker_worm

 

http://www.microsoft .com/protect/compute r/viruses/worms/conf icker.mspx

 

http://www.mcafee.co m

 

If your PC

is

infected, the worm won't let you navigate to the website. Isn't that freaky. The problem with just turning your computer off April 1st is that the worm isn't set up to only go off on April 1st, but

any day after April 1st

. When you do eventually connect to the internet, you'll have the same problem.

This is a similar test to Cara's post

 

Conficker Eye Chart

 

This link has images that are hot linked to security sites that the Conficker worm blocks.

 

it has a legend at the bottom telling you, what you see and what type of conficker worm you have or whether you have it or not.

[Nin-Yaaban]

Macs are somewhat safer when it comes to viruses, but there still are viruses out there for macs due to increasing number of mac users. install all the apple security updates, and don't visit questionable sites. i think this conficker is not real. if they've known about it for 2 yrs, why ist an issue now?

[Chimera]

This rubbish PC resembles the Kuwaiti military, i have been hit by all types of bugs, my pc is like the cyberworld's beirut, so yeah sure conficker worm!(on 1 april 200 I.E pages popped up so i guess it's in my system now.)

 

whatever man conficker all you want..