Conficker Worm Could Be Heading Your Way

Conficker (also called Downadup) will be triggered on April 1st.





This one makes me a little nervous, because it's being taken seriuosly by the major tech security firms. I've read that there are at least 3 million machines that are already infected & ready to be triggered & one of the computer techs in my family has been told by their employer to not make any plans for April 1st, or 2nd, in case they have to stay at work trying to do damage control.

If this worm lives up to the hype I've been reading, we might see networks to jammed with traffic & spotty web sites & email, maybe more. Remember "Slammer" in 2003? I do. Yuck. I don't know too much about it yet, but have been reading up to get up to speed just in case it affects me, mine, yours, ours, etc.

Microsoft announced a $250K reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals behind the creation and/or distribution of Conficker

You can test whether they have the worm by trying to access the web site of F-Secure or Symantec Corp. since the worm supposedly blocks those sites.

I read sci-fi, & the apocalyptic takeover of humanity by vicious sentient machines seems pretty plausible to me & this could be the first step. You know, create a massive botnet army that harnesses the power of the internet to do evil against the citizens of the world...

(playing in the background)
"Paranoia will destroy ya..."

Here are some links so you can read up for yourself:

• Statesman article
• CNN article
• Microsoft article
• Wickipedia article
• ABC News article
• CBS13 article
• PC World article
• Tech-Linkblog article

Now go check your machines!

There's a New Virus in Town

It's a worm called: Downandup, Downadup, Kido!, or Conficker (all the same thing), and it primarily seems to be being delivered via infected USB drives.

It works by tricking you into thinking you are opening up a file from _________ (whatever drive you plug in). When you plug in the USB device an autoplay window pops up, naming the device & the drive letter. You've probably seen it a hundred times.

Directly below it there is a folder that says "Open folder to view files - Published by Microsoft Windows". If you click it you have just installed the virus.

If you look closer you'll see another set of commands under "General options" Those are the real commands. One says "Open folder to view files - using Windows Explorer", the next one says "Speed up my system - using Windows ReadyBoost". Both of these are legitimate.

I hate this stuff. Seriously, it's the worst thing the tech guys out there have to deal with. Supposedly F-Secure has a fix for it but from what I've heard it is iffy at best.

Here's a link to a screenshot of it. Remember, don't click on the top option.

Sorry to geek out. I will return to my normal vapidness with the next post.