Conficker Update
There has been a lot of media hype lately about the April 1st hatching of the Conficker.C virus. Doomsayers are warning of a Millennium bug-like meltdown. Judging by our site’s traffic, Mac and Linux users are worried as well. 60 Minutes ran a piece on it and that seemed to fuel the panic.
Here are the facts:
1. The infection tries to block security vendors’ sites. A quick and easy test, while not 100% foolproof, is to surf to their site. If it doesn’t come up, jump down to #5 here. If you’re not sure, try F-Secure’s site. They’re on the blocked sites list.
2. Mac OS systems cannot run the virus natively but Parallels and Boot Camp installs can. Users with Windows on their Macs are at risk.
2. Linux PCs and servers…same thing…cannot run it. Neither can your handheld devices.
3. If you have all of your Windows Updates as well as a good, up-to-date antivirus program that is running normally, you are protected. Keep in mind that this virus, like many others, is designed to knock-out your antivirus though. If you can’t get into your AV software or it’s status seems wonky, see step 4.
4. If you’re not sure, scan your system now. An online scanner will not affect your current software and while it may take a while to scan, a second opinion is often useful.
5. Bitdefender has a good free cleanup tool designed just for this virus. Like the online scanners mentioned above, you can use it without harming your current AV.
I don’t think we need to panic come Wednesday, though. Don’t be too alarmed by news articles that lack balanced information. If you’d like more information, CNET has a good article. Don’t Google it too much though, because searching for Conficker seems to lead users to the very sites they should be avoiding.
2 Responses to “Conficker Update”
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Thanks Troy. I’ll bet the CBS piece got lots of people and organizations concerned.
That’s true! Sadly, the media attention has been disproportionate to the actual threat.