There is a worm called Conficker that has been infiltrating computer systems for quite a while now. Monitors have been tracking this worm which lies dormant in the PC, waiting for "instructions". It has been transmitted through even the most reliable websites. According to our sources, this is what we were told:
I. Description
Home users can apply a simple test for the presence of a
Conficker/Downadup infection on their home computers. The presence
of a Conficker/Downadup infection may be detected if a user is
unable to surf to their security solution website or if they are
unable to connect to the websites, by downloading detection/removal
tools available free from those sites:
* [
www.symantec.com]
* [
www.microsoft.com]
* [
www.mcafee.com]
If a user is unable to reach any of these websites, it may indicate
a Conficker/Downadup infection. The most recent variant of
Conficker/Downadup interferes with queries for these sites,
preventing a user from visiting them. If a Conficker/Downadup
infection is suspected, the system or computer should be removed
from the network or unplugged from the Internet - in the case for
home users.
II. Impact
A remote, unauthenticated attacker could execute arbitrary code on
a vulnerable system.
III. Solution
Instructions, support and more information on how to manually
remove a Conficker/Downadup infection from a system have been
published by major security vendors. Please see below for a few of
those sites. Each of these vendors offers free tools that can
verify the presence of a Conficker/Downadup infection and remove
the worm:
Symantec:
[
www.symantec.com]
Microsoft:
[
support.microsoft.com]
[
www.microsoft.com]
Microsoft PC Safety hotline at 1-866-PCSAFETY, for assistance.
US-CERT encourages users to prevent a Conficker/Downadup infection by
ensuring all systems have the MS08-067 patch (see
[
www.microsoft.com]),
disabling AutoRun functionality (see
[
www.us-cert.gov]), and
maintaining up-to-date anti-virus software.
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This is just a warning to those that may not know about this new threat.
And to those that leave their computers on overnight... DON'T! This is the easiest way for viruses to infiltrate your system. Always shut down whenever you are not using your computer and then especially at night. I have continuously warned people in my company for years to not leave their computers on and yet when they don't listen, theirs is the computer that ultimately has problems.
Vicki
[
www.vrbo.com]
Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.
