Conficker: More Computer Contamination

MS Windows is like a great slab of rotting meat sitting out in the sun and rain for weeks on end. Worm food!

Actually, no. A perverse fact about the computer industry is that dead software remains pristine. It's the living software that attracts vermin and carrion eaters. And the various flavors of Windows are collectively the livingest software there is. Consequently those of us running 2000 or XP or Vista must apply a never ending succession of poultices, potions, smelling salts, and bandages to keep it that way.

A case in point is Conficker. This is the latest worm to try and make a meal of Windows. It exploits a security hole (Microsoft fixed it in October '08, but if you aren't using automatic updates yours might still be there) to spread itself from computer to computer. If you're infected, it also blocks you from accessing security sites so you can't get updated anti-virus definitions that would wipe it out.

Tomorrow it's supposed to go on a rampage, forming a network of remotely controlled hijacked computers to carry out a cybercrime spree; the malicious people who write this kind of malicious code like to set their creations loose on April 1st. They don't understand April Fool's Day is supposed to be for hoaxes and other such harmless deceptions.

But chances are it won't amount to much. There are ways to get around Conficker's website blocking activity. Worst case, you could ask an uninfected friend to download one of the many tools available and send it as an email attachment. The Internet Storm Center has a large collection of these tools.

http://www.dshield.org/diary.html?storyid=5860

Don't search the web for them. Hackers have reacted to the first wave of publicity about Conficker by poisoning search engine results so they point to malware instead. And one further wrinkle: if "Conficker" is in the name of a removal tool, Conficker will block it from running. Many antivirus vendors have already changed the names of their removal tools in response, but if yours isn't you'll have to change it yourself.

The battle between parasites and your immune system is never ending.