my cousin is an IT in dallas and sent this out to all of my family...i did a little research and it looks like while the virus may not start attacking tomorrow, it might begin to step up it's own security. according to itworld.com, only about 6% of US computers are infected. however, up to 31% of the infected computers are from europe. the link above gives those stats and this symantec page gives tips to detect and remove the worm.

from my cousin:
"Tomorrow -- April 1 -- is D-Day for Conficker, as whatever nasty payload it's packing is currently set to activate. What happens come midnight is a mystery: Will it turn the millions of infected computers into spam-sending zombie robots? Or will it start capturing everything you type -- passwords, credit card numbers, etc.
-- and send that information back to its masters?

No one knows, but we'll probably find out soon.

Or not. As Slate notes, Conficker is scheduled to go "live" on April 1, but whoever's controlling it could choose not to wreak havoc but instead do absolutely nothing, waiting for a time when there's less heat. They can do this because the way Conficker is designed is extremely clever: Rather than containing a list of specific, static instructions, Conficker reaches out to the web to receive updated marching orders via a huge list of websites it creates. Conficker.C -- the latest bad boy -- will start checking 50,000 different semi-randomly-generated sites a day looking for instructions, so there's no way to shut down all of them. If just one of those sites goes live with legitimate instructions, Conficker keeps on trucking.

Conficker's a nasty little worm that takes serious efforts to bypass your security defenses, but you aren't without some tools in your arsenal to protect yourself.

Your first step should be the tools you already have: Windows Update, to make sure your computer is fully patched, and your current antivirus software, to make sure anything that slips through the cracks is caught.

But if Conficker's already on your machine, it may bypass certain subsystems and updating Windows and your antivirus at this point may not work. If you are worried about anything being amiss -- try booting into Safe Mode, which Conficker prevents, to check -- you should run a specialized tool to get rid of Conficker.


Microsoft offers a web-based scanner (note that some users have reported it crashed their machines; I had no trouble with it), so you might try one of these downloadable options instead: Symantec's Conficker (aka Downadup) tool, Trend Micro's Cleanup Engine, or Malwarebytes. Conficker may prevent your machine from accessing any of these websites, so you may have to download these tools from a known non-infected computer if you need them. Follow the instructions given on each site to run them successfully. (Also note: None of these tools should harm your computer if you don't have Conficker.)

As a final safety note, all users -- whether they're worried about an infection or know for sure they're clean -- are also wise to make a full data backup today.

What won't work? Turning your PC off tonight and back on on April 2 will not protect you from the worm (sorry to the dozens of people who wrote me asking if this would do the trick). Temporarily disconnecting your computer from the web won't help if the malware is already on your machine -- it will simply activate once you connect again. Changing the date on your PC will likely have no helpful effect, either. And yes, Macs are immune this time out.
Follow the above instructions to detect and remove the worm."

just a heads up. jeremy never posts things like that unless it's for sure. :(.

Just a heads up, though, I heard this on the news early early early this morning. DO NOT do a search for Symantec to get more information. DO NOT do a search for Microsoft to get more information. They're not sure how it does, but doing a search for either of those words will more than likely result in you getting the virus.

They also gave a website to remove it if you think you get it.

onecare.live.com

doesn't it generate thousands of random website URLs that infect the PC? i hadn't heard not to look FOR symantec or microsoft! but it makes sense, if that's what people are looking for first.

I read an article on MSN this morning that said you should check if your computer can go to Microsoft or Symantec websites, but it isn't posted anymore. However, MSN does have a new one up here:
"Lots of computer worms disable antivirus software outright, which can be a tip-off that something is wrong. But Conficker doesn't do that. Instead, Conficker blocks infected PCs from accessing the antivirus vendors' and Microsoft's Web sites, so victims won't get automatic updates and can't download the Conficker removal tools that those companies have developed.

So see what Web sites you can visit. If you can navigate the Internet freely except for sites owned by Microsoft or antivirus vendors such as Symantec Corp., McAfee Inc. or F-Secure Corp., your PC might have Conficker or a similar bug."

That seems to suggest that we should be checking to see we can view those websites, doesn't it?

Though I know different medias sometimes offer different information, and MSN is the only place I've looked at articles over Confiker.

I heard on the radio this morning that you should try to go to those sites, and if you can successfully get through it's a sign that you probably aren't infected. Who knows though!

YESSS I HAVE A MAC!!! *breathes easy*

haha we are safe, us apple heads :P

I'm an IT student and I told my teachers, the staff and my classmates about this virus. They didn't believe me at first, and they laughed. But my program Coordinator read up on it. They say it looks like the main computer is taking over "Zombie Computers" with this Conficker virus. And on April 1st (tomorrow) they say the "Zombie Computers" are going to start sending requests to the main computer. AKA they're going to begin searching for it, and they're not really sure how long that's going to take.

What everyone is scared of, is that the person behind all of this could be logging our keys, and gaining personal information about MILLIONS of people. This could have a really big impact on us, or it could be some small joke someone decided they'd play on everyone.

I for one can't wait until tomorrow! I really want to see what comes from this.

i'm also interested to see what happens, but it could be disastrous. i mean, like you said, it could be anything from keyloggers to site histories. it's scary. i've checked my computers, and don't think i'm infected...hope not.

my school supplied us with a conficker virus scanner. I'm not infected, and neither in my class. I think I'll hurry and go to sleep, so tomorrow can come

i heard that if your computer is infected, it's already in there, you just wont know til tomorrow.

there are ways to find out

Is this the virus that the Russian teenagers have been developing? I heard it on the radio a few days ago that the Russians were hacking into American computers to steal money, and there is no way to get rid of the worm because it keeps mutating. And it can just sit in your computer for days or months until it decides to act up.

Seriously, what is the point of making viruses? It's ridiculous.

to make money

I know that. But there are some people that make them just for fun. Oh well. Its so hard to get rid of them.

it is ridiculous, but they do what they do.

i heard about this on the news. sounds like a bunch of fucking fun. not.

OH LOOK. ITS SIX AM ON APRIL FIRST.


No virus?

only got two hours of april 1st left here and i've heard nothing.

LAWL APRIL FEWLS?

have you not been reading? It was activated long before April 1st. It's just taking it's time to show the effect it wants to. The viruses are lodged on your computer and are possibly collecting a shit ton of information on you. And they report back to main computer for further instructions. Sorry but that doesn't take a day..

guh

No shit I've been reading?

Learn to pick up on sarcasm.

LOL I'm not sure... if anyone's told you or not. But sarcasm doesn't work on the internet.. HAHA

;D

What a surprise. Nothing catastrophic has happened. Another classic case of the media taking information and hyping it up.

To everyone: if you've been updating your Microsoft Windows regularly (like automatic updates), then you are FINE

To everyone who thinks they are going to tell me I'm full of crap: I'm not just some joe blow, I'm work with this stuff every day...

How do you get it though? Web pages? Email attachments? File downloads? I have seen news stuff about what it does, but never how it is obtained.

I only use Windows for gaming anyway, while using Linux for web surfing and everything else. But I do keep everything updated, including Nod32 antivirus. Hope my gaming box is safe. heh.... damned bugs!