"Conficker" computer worm

[A.M.D.A.]

Anyone else aware of this thing? Apparently someone/s are going to wreak havoc on millions of infected PC's... and according to one article, possibly "topple the internet"...?

In another it says that this malware thing is able to "copy itself onto a digital camera". Wonder why they would want to do that, to wirelessly steal your pictures?

- http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/128643

- http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/security/66403.html

Just another reason to switch over to Linux or Mac.

[Frog]

Thanks for the warning.
Note the free safety scan only works with internet explorer and not Firefox.

[tayl0124]

AMDA, ironically I heard of this today from my boss. Had not heard about it before. As for the last comment in your post. I would love for millions more users to switch to Linux and Mac to avoid these viruses the only unfortunate thing is that so would the people writing the viruses. If you are a mac or Linux user I would loathe too many people jumping ship from winblows for that reason. That being said I am a Windows user, but have learned how to protect myself.

[Medley]

Just for fun, Google the phrase "known Mac viruses" sometime. Currently, the list is about two screens long. Smart Mac users have learned to protect themselves too.

Still, you know, in comparison.........

- Joe U.

[SmartWombat]

Dramatic, over-hyped, even scare-mongering reporting.

It was found in 2008, so anyone using antivirus software will be protected.
Anyone who installed the Microsoft patch in October 2008 will be protected.


If you're using your camera to load images onto a computer, then yes if there is a virus that infects new disks as they are added to the computer then your camera's memory card will get infected.
Just as it would if you used a card reader to access the card, that presents the memory as a new disk, too.

Of course, the 70% of people who are protected doesn't stop it hitting the remaining 30%.
Particularly since it spreads through Microsoft's Autorun ... that means USB sticks are a particularly bad thing to use in a commercial environment, there people tend to share them.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715 tells how to disable Autorun.


After all the cries of "wolf" for April 1 viruses, I'm sceptical about this one.
But if there are still enough computers infected six months after the antivirus and Microsoft updates, then it could get interesting for them.

[Franglais]

Conficker is a serious threat even in well-run corporate environments. Unfortunately with companies merging and reorganising there's always some calm backwater where the team maintaining the computer patch mechanism isn't there any more. Or perhaps worse - where the local team is putting up sullen resistance to a takeover from the corporate team and doesn't have its mind on the job.

Conficker hit my client about 10 days ago. I'm in the corporate Windows group, sitting between the security and networking teams. It was an anxious time. They closed down Windows networking between sites for a while after two outbreaks. It seems to be over now.

Another example: Conficker hit the French Navy pretty badly. They couldn't launch any Rafale aircraft for two days..

[SmartWombat]

What? The Navy didn't have good enough security !
I googled it, I am astonished at the organisations that ought to know better that have been hit this year when they should have been protected for months.

On February 6, 2009, the computers used by the Houston Municipal Courts were infected
On February 13, the Bundeswehr reported that some hundred of their computers were infected
On March 27, 2009, the British Director of Parliamentary ICT released a (leaked) memo stating that the House of Commons computer network has been infected with the virus

Not just the French:
The U.K. Ministry of Defence reported that some of its major systems and desktops were infected

Seems that my policy of daily AV updates and installing all MS security updates hasn't caught on in Government.

Our company must be exceptional. We have had no trouble at all.
Though our network servers and all PCs run antivirus, the majority of users access through Wyse Winterm (or Siemens) diskless network terminals which prevents them introducing anything to the network.

It's the management that might be a vector, they're all using laptops and can easily transfer viruses accidentally between GB, IE, BE, NL, DE, ES, PT, CZ as they visit different offices.
Or the IT Support team, who install software from fingerprint secured USB sticks instead of the original disk media.


Everybody out there, make sure you're part of the solution, not part of the problem.

[Franglais]

If you're in a medium-sized company the chances are your IT group has it under control. There is one group, one vision, and someone has the memory to understand how it all works.

When you start making large organisations by combining companies the trouble starts. It takes years to get the different infrastructures to work together (I can't complain - it's been my main activity for years).

The most dangerous person is the next-to-top level of management who don't listen to warnings, take their work computer home, connect to Internet from their inadequately protected home connection and bring a virus back the next morning. Saw it happen with my very eyes a few years ago with Blaster.

[SmartWombat]

The most dangerous person is the next-to-top level of management who don't listen to warnings

But blame us when it went wrong - been there.
Manager introduced the virus and blamed us for not preventing it.
When we pointed out that manager had not signed the purchase requisition for antivirus software ... we ended up just disinfecting the computers.
A few months later he did it again, we cleaned up again and insisted he paid for the antivirus software.

[mwfanelli2]

Turned out to be a bust. It's April 1st and all the news sources are reporting no major disruptions. As one of the other posters mentioned, this is an old worm that has launched a couple of times before. Old news if you keep your computer up-to-date.

[SmartWombat]

Old news if you keep your computer up-to-date.

Unlike the British Navy, the French Navy, the House of Commons, Houston Municipal Courts ...

Turns out to be a damp squid.
If you think I typed that right, go buy the book !!

[mwfanelli2]

Unlike the British Navy, the French Navy, the House of Commons, Houston Municipal Courts ...

Turns out to be a damp squid.
If you think I typed that right, go buy the book !!

It always baffles me why the media emphasis is on the "5-10 million" personal computers that are going to blow up but never talk about the installations at huge corporations and government agencies. I was stunned that the college I work at was untouched... Especially as updating on these machines is shut off!