Beware of "Conficker C" worm on 4/1/09

[Steve615]

From Yahoo Tech News:
The "Conficker C" worm is expected to result in one of the most damaging attacks on computers in years.
Security experts are racing against time to mitigate the impact of a bit of malware which is set to wreak havoc on a hard-coded date.
As is often the case,that date is April 1.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/128643/beware-conficker-worm-come-april-1/

The Conficker worm first showed up in late 2008 and began making headlines in January 2009 as known infections topped 9 million computers.
Now in its third variant,Conficker C has grown incredibly complicated,powerful and virulent.

[Brandon428]

I never understood why people created malicious viruses. If they would put all that knowledge and time into creating something useful than maybe they could make some money out of it instead of just a laugh.

[Grentz]

Most just want the media attention, or to ruin the image of some company/product.

Stupid really, they could do so much more with their skills but bring themselves to the level of petty thieves and crooks.

[Steve615]

From Yahoo & trendmicro.com:
Conficker appears to be showing signs of life.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/137609

http://blog.trendmicro.com/downadconficker-watch-new-variant-in-the-mix/

[Steve615]

From Yahoo & AP:
Conficker hits University of Utah computers,infecting more than 700 campus computers,including those at the school's three hospitals.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090412/ap_on_hi_te/computer_virus

[TSR]

From Yahoo & AP:
Conficker hits University of Utah computers,infecting more than 700 campus computers,including those at the school's three hospitals.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090412/ap_on_hi_te/computer_virus

To aim at one company is something, but to throw it as a blanket statement to the whole world and let it go into hospitals among everything else is another ballgame, whether intentional or unintentional.

What if this spreads to the troops hospitals we have overseas?

[LarryFlowers]

Unfortunatley, this outbreak at the university falls squarely on the shoulders of the IT department. Failure to install the patches provided over 6 months ago and to use the tools available to scan their networks is their fault.

[barryb]

Unfortunatley, this outbreak at the university falls squarely on the shoulders of the IT department. Failure to install the patches provided over 6 months ago and to use the tools available to scan their networks is their fault.

I agree with you Larry. I spent a good deal of time making sure things were okay on my corporate network, and went through it all one last time right before the 1st rolled in.

It would be a tough thing to deal with at a university level, and a job I am glad I don't have to deal with.

[hdtvfan0001]

It seems that simply keeping up to date with commercial software updates and anti-virus/spyware almost mitigates any risk from these kinds of attacks.

Yet despite this being both easy and something that should become routine, it's still surprising to see just how many companies, public institutions, and individuals fail to follow this basic practice.

There really is no excuse. :(

[Steve615]

A recent article from Reuters dated 4/24/09 suggests that Conficker,aka Downadup,Waledac and Kido,continues to be activated slowly on computers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE53N5I820090424?sp=true