Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Conficker (Configure) Worm April Fool's Day

I'm sure many of you have heard about the  worm, which is supposed to be unleashed on April 1st.  It's believed to have infected between 5-10 million computers.

Whereas past worms were used to create havoc, tech gurus are saying this worm's activity will be different.  The Conficker C worm's creator/controller is more likely to use it as a way to make profits (by encouraging computer users to buy fake software, etc).

There's apparently a 250,000 bounty on for anyone who can catch the creator of Conficker C:

The anti-worm researchers have banded together in a group they call the Conficker Cabal. Members are searching for the malicious software program's author and for ways to do damage control if he or she can't be stopped.

They're motivated in part by a $250,000 bounty from Microsoft and also by what seems to be a sort of Dick Tracy ethic.
Quoted from CNN.

Whatever the day, it is foolish to operate a PC without keeping your antivirus software current! 

As far as I know, conficker is not some "super worm"--I'm sure any decent, updated antivirus software is able to handle it.  Symantec actually referenced it back on March 6th.  Speaking of Symantec, you can find a removal tool on their website