What will happen on 4/1 with the Conficker Worm?  There are experts portraying this as a near apocolyptic event while others believe it to be nothing more than a harmless April Fools joke.

How are we to know who is right?  Who knows, but regardless of the dangers posed by this virus, everyone should make a point of keeping both their Anti-Virus software and Windows Security Updates current.  This will keep you protected from this threat as well as many others that are not being hyped up on the news right now.  If you have been good about keeping your computer secure, I would not sweat the conficker virus.

If you are unsure about how to check your Anti-Virus and Windows Updates, you should consider having a computer professional stop by and take a look.  It is a great idea to periodically have your computer "tuned up" and checked for security settings anyway.

Good Luck and Be Safe!

It is now being reported that the Conficker virus is beginning to attack a small number of infected computers (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517817,00.html). 

Is it time to Panick?

As mentioned in my previous post, if you keep you Windows Security and Anti-Virus definitions up to date, you should have nothing to worry about.  There are a large number of computers especially in the corporate world that are not properly protected and help to spread these viruses.  The Conficker is turning a select group of the infected computers into "SPAM Machines" following commands given by those who wrote the virus.  These computers are also being infected with two additional viruses one of which tries to get the user to purchase a fake Anti-Virus program to clean their system.  Instead of cleaning the virus, the credit card information is stolen and more malware is downloaded and installed.

NEVER...  I Repeat ... NEVER give your credit card information to a pop up program claiming you are unprotected and for some amount of money, they will take care of the problem for you.  If you are receiving these types of pop ups, you should have your computer looked at right away.

We'll be keeping an eye on future developments with this and other malware and will keep you posted.  Meanwhile, be safe and keep that computer protected.

Mark