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Last-minute Conficker survival guide : Christopher Null : Yahoo! Tech
Last-minute Conficker survival guide
Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:42PM EDT
See Comments (1685)
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.
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Comments on Last-minute Conficker survival guide
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Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
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1 Posted by beershrine@sbcglobal.net on Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:09PM EDT Report Abuse
Conficker was designed by malware experts to sell you more software.
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2 Posted by mrcantinflas3644 on Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:16PM EDT Report Abuse
Hi my anti-virus recently expired and right now I havent had money to re-new my anti-virus is there any free trials out there for the meantime.
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3 Posted by artchick48 on Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:21PM EDT Report Abuse
mrcantinflas3644, try the FREE edition of AVG
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4 Posted by dowtyoffice2 on Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:21PM EDT Report Abuse
Try the free version of AVG. It works great on my computer.
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5 Posted by jobcook@bellsouth.net on Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:21PM EDT Report Abuse
I have been using a free antivirus software called Avast. I've been using it exclusively for several years now and with no problems. You can go to Avast.com and look for free antivirus downloads. Cheers
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