CONFLICKER VIRUS
Due to the many recent internet postings and exposure of this brutal virus/worm, I have compiled some relevant and important information regarding this new threat. At the bottom of this post you will find direct information from Microsoft to identify, prevent, and fix your computer as it relates to the Conflicker virus.
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From: Yahoo.com
In an event that hits the computer world only once every few years, security experts are racing against time to mitigate the impact of a bit of malware which is set to wreak havoc on a hard-coded date. As is often the case, that date is April 1 2009.
Malware creators love to target April Fool’s Day with their wares, and the latest worm, called Conficker C, could be one of the most damaging attacks we’ve seen in years.
Conficker first bubbled up in late 2008 and began making headlines in January as known infections topped 9 million computers. Now in its third variant, Conficker C, the worm has grown incredibly complicated, powerful, and virulent… though no one is quite sure exactly what it will do when D-Day arrives.
Thanks in part to a quarter-million-dollar bounty on the head of the writer of the worm, offered by Microsoft, security researchers are aggressively digging into the worm’s code as they attempt to engineer a cure or find the writer before the deadline. What’s known so far is that on April 1, all infected computers will come under the control of a master machine located somewhere across the web, at which point anything’s possible. Will the zombie machines become denial of service attack pawns, steal personal information, wipe hard drives, or simply manifest more traditional malware pop-ups and extortion-like come-ons designed to sell you phony security software? No one knows.
Conficker is clever in the way it hides its tracks because it uses an enormous number of URLs to communicate with HQ. The first version of Conficker used just 250 addresses each day — which security researchers and ICANN simply bought and/or disabled — but Conficker C will up the ante to 50,000 addresses a day when it goes active, a number which simply can’t be tracked and disabled by hand.
At this point, you should be extra vigilant about protecting your PC: Patch Windows completely through Windows Update and update your anti-malware software as well. Make sure your antivirus software is actually running too, as Conficker may have disabled it.
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From: FOXNews.com
The Conficker Internet worm could strike at infected computers around the world on April 1, a security expert warned Monday.
Conficker is a sophisticated piece of malicious computer software, or malware, that installs itself on a Windows PC’s hard drive via specially written Web pages. It then conceals itself on a computer.
Graham Cluley of the British security firm Sophos confirmed that Conficker is programmed “to hunt for new instructions on April 1.”
However, he added, “This does not mean that anything is going to happen, or that the worm is actually going to do anything. Simply, it is scheduled to hunt a wider range of Web sites for instructions on that date.”
One strange thing about Conficker is that no one yet has any idea what it is programmed to do.
In February, Cluley told The Times: “It’s as if someone is assembling an army of computers around the world, but hasn’t yet decided where to point them.”
A worst-case scenario for April 1 would be for all the world’s millions of infected computers to receive simultaneous instructions to attack, or to flood the Internet with spam e-mail.
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March 31, 2009 by
A new computer virus is causing a panic. The Conficker worm is believed to strike systems running Microsoft Windows on April 1st, April Fool's Day. The Conflicker worm will not be your average April Fool's Day prank, however.
What is the Conflicker worm, nicknamed the Microsoft virus?
The Conficker worm is being called the "Microsoft virus" by some. The Conflicker worm is especially dangerous because it allows remote code execution. The remote code execution will allow the hackers and the worm creators to access any computers that are infected. TheConflicker worm is a type of computer virus that spreads. What is slightly unusual about this one is the fact it has been attaching itself to portable memory drives, like a jumpdrive or USB memory drive. The Conflicker worm can spread to any computers in your network at home or at work.
How do you determine if your computer is infected with the Conflicker worm
According to Cnet.com, a quick way to tell if your computer is infected with the Conflicker worm is to try to access the Web site of a major antivirus vendor, which the worm blocks. If you try to access anti-virus software website like McAfee, Symantec or Norton and you cannot, your computer may be infected with the Conflicker worm already. The Conflicker worm also blocks Microsoft updates.
What can you do to protect yourself from the Conflicker worm also known as the "Microsoft virus"
The most important thing you can do for your computer safety is keep up to date with all Microsoft updates and patches. Many people avoid the automatic Microsoft updates because they feel it is unnecessary. Always use the latest anti-virus software for your computer. Download the software from a reputable website or purchase computer anti-virus software at a store. Never click on any popups that offer you a free virus check.
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From: Microsoft.com
Protect yourself from the Conficker computer worm
The Conficker worm is a computer worm that can infect your computer and spread itself to other computers across a network automatically, without human interaction.
If you are an IT professional, please visit Conficker Worm: Help Protect Windows from Conficker.
On This Page
Is my computer infected with the Conficker worm?
Probably not. Microsoft released a security update in October 2008 (MS 08-067) to protect against Conficker.
If your computer is up-to-date with the latest security updates and your antivirus software is also up-to-date, you probably don’t have the Conficker worm.
If you are still worried about Conficker, follow these steps:
What does the Conficker worm do?
To date, security researchers have discovered four variants of the worm in the wild.
Win32/Conficker.B might spread through file sharing and via removable drives, such as USB drives (also known as thumb drives). The worm adds a file to the removable drive so that when the drive is used, the AutoPlay dialog box will show one additional option.
The Conficker worm can also disable important services on your computer.
How do I remove the Conficker worm?
If your computer is infected with the Conficker worm, you may be unable to download certain security products, such as the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool or you may be unable to access certain Web sites, such as Microsoft Update. If you can't access those tools, try using the Windows Live safety scanner.
Where can I find more technical information about the Conficker worm and how can I stay up to date on the Conficker worm?
For more information, see How to prevent computer worms and How to remove computer worms.