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Got Conficker Worm? Hopefully, no.
To know if you’re actually infected by the Conficker Worm, a fast way is to try visiting any major security software publisher’s site such as AVG, McAfee, Symantec, Avira, etc. If you cannot load them, then you might be infected because Conficker blocks access to them.
Also, check if your Windows services such as Automatic Updates, the Background Intelligent Transfer Service, Windows Defender, and Error Reporting Services are working, that is, none have been disabled without your consent.
If you have confirmed that you have Conficker on your system, then download one of several free removal clients, such as McAfee’s Stinger, Eset’s Win32/Conficker Worm Removal Tool, Symantec’s W32.Downadup Removal Tool, and Sopho’s Conficker Cleanup Tool.
More details HERE.
Hopefully, all this fuss about it is just a cruel April Fool’s joke.
Conficker Worm – FYI (Alert!)
The Conficker Worm is the latest buzz right now in IT security. Conficker, initially just considered a trojan but now considered a worm, is now said to have the ability to identify antivirus software and/or malware scanners running on the infected PC along with the ability to disable the identified applications.
Side note: Trojan horses are files claiming to be something desirable but actually contain malicious code that when triggered cause loss, or even theft, of data. Worms, on the other hand, are programs that replicate themselves from system to system without the use of a host file. Worms spread from computer to computer, but unlike a virus, it has the capability to travel without any human action.
Conficker, also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, is a very sophisticated worm that surfaced in October 2008 and took advantage of a security hole in the Microsoft Windows operating system. It is also known by the following names:
TA08-297A (other)
CVE-2008-4250 (other)
VU827267 (other)
Win32/Conficker.worm.62976 (AhnLab)
Trojan.Downloader.JLIW (BitDefender)
Win32/Conficker.A (CA)
Win32/Conficker.A (ESET)
Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Agent.aqfw (Kaspersky)
W32/Conficker.worm (McAfee)
W32/Conficker.E (Norman)
W32/Confick-A (Sophos)
W32.Downadup (Symantec)
Trojan.Disken.B (VirusBuster)
The hole affected all 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems even those with latest service packs. The hole allowed the virus to infect the computer without any user interaction via the Internet, local network or USB thumb drives. Once infected, it stops the computer’s security services as well as Windows update service and disabled tools and software designed to remove it. Apart from that, the worm also allows the creator to remotely install other malicious codes on the infected computer.
Consequently, the worm is programmed to update itself from domains it randomly generates. By April 1, 2009, the mount of domains the worm generates and goes to find update could grow to 50,000 a day. The owner of the virus only needs to use one of these domains to host the update. This makes it virtually impossible for authorities to track the source of the update.
Now, what do we do?
Applying the MS08-087 patch to Windows would have been sufficient initially, but unfortunately, it may not be that simple now. Antivirus applications are trying their best to keep up and provide solutions that will remove the malware, but as previously mentioned, those are being shut down by the worm. Still, I suggest regularly updating your antivirus software especially as April 1st , the presumed date of worm activation, looms near.
Michael Kassner wrote on TechRepublic:
Officially, the only real resolution is to reformat and reload, especially since Conficker.C still resides at the application level. If the developers decide to bury the malware in the BIOS or SMM, it could get ugly.
I would just suggest to constantly keep yourself updated for whatever developments experts will find so you would know what to do just in case.
Photo Credits: Wikipedia; registrycleanerz.com
Stop! Please Don’t Send! Click Undo (Gmail)
There have been times when I wrote an email, pressed send, then suddenly realized that I missed to mention something, or that I wanted to reply to all instead of one or vice versa, or some other likely reason.
During my Wireless Networking school days, I was working on this project with my group mates and we were communicating through email. I’m supposed to reply to all so everyone will be updated of the new developments, but sometimes, I already sent my reply email then realize that I only sent it to one person. That kind of situation is a little bit okay since it only is among my friends, and I could always just send again.
In my job email applications though, that probably has happened to me a couple of times or so. There was this time that I suddenly discovered that I missed an “s” in one word. It was so grammatically wrong and that simply irks me. Or there was this other time that I forgot to attach my resume and then realized it a second too late. No! No! Please don’t send!
Thankfully, Gmail has introduced the Undo Send feature in its Gmail Labs recently last March 19th, 2009. You can now take back the email you just sent as long as it is done within a five second time frame. It also has an option to adjust the time to ten seconds, if you prefer. However, it cannot pull back the email you sent once it’s already gone after five seconds.
In addition, there is also a Forgotten Attachment Detector feature in Gmail Labs that will stop you from sending an email if it detects that you mentioned attach but haven’t included any attachments. This actually has saved me once so far.
Of course, the best way to prevent these bloopers from happening is to be extremely careful in the email content you are sending. Double check, or even triple check. Be alert. Try to avoid sending an email when you’re not completely awake, or when you are feeling sluggish. (This is sometimes the reason why these things happen to me. Haha!)
Happy emailing!
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