Do you have a PC and are currenty using a Windows OS (Operating System), most notably XP or Vista?

Then YOU need to pay close attention to what experts are saying about the Conficker Virus which they think will disrupt computers tomorrow on April Fool’s day, if not before.

Experts are most worried about the ‘C’ variant of Conficker worm, aka Downadup or Kido, which infects Windows machines (XP and Vista) and disables them to get security updates or patches from Microsoft and from other vendors. The ‘B’ variant of the Conficker worm was causing problems in January of this year and by February, it had affected over 9 million Windows users worldwide. Microsoft itself had even announced to pay reward of $250,000 to any one who knows any information about the hackers responsible for this. Conficker in general has been known to attack vulnerabilities in all OS, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 Beta and Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta. The C variant seems to be mostly manifested in XP and Vista.

In what way will this harm you?
Though no one knows for sure what Conficker will actually do experts do think the worm will be used to create a botnet that will be rented out to online hackers and criminals who want to send SPAM, steal IDs and direct users to online scams and phishing sites.

What do you need to do immediately?
First of all, update your anti-virus software. Especially tomorrow, April 1st, make sure that your anti-virus is running when you start your computer,don’t just think it is, test it and make sure. Also, make sure that you have the latest Windows security updates. Some companies that say they are prepared are Symantec, F-Secure, and Avast!

What you need to know!
1.) Changing the date of your system will not help avoid this worm.
2.) Keeping your computer shut on April 1 will also not help either.
3.) The only way to get past this worm is by updating Windows and your anti-virus software.

PLEASE do these following things immediately:

1.) Update your Anti-Virus software.
2.) Get the latest Windows security updates.
3.) If you do not understand these, call/email your computer person immediately and ask them for assistance.

Here are some individuals/companies that can assist you who work with Geek Girl Camp.

June Bertucci – Small Office Computer Support of Cape Cod – 508.771.7940
Lori Melia – Computer Performance and Upgrades -  508.888.7998
Julianne McLaughlin – Blue Lan Group – 877-258-7711

Best Buy also carries anti-virus software and the Geek Squad would love to help you out.

DO NOT take this virus lightly – 60 Minutes did a complete story on it last night.

If any PC experts on the Conficker virus can help us out by posting some other things PC owners should know, we welcome any and all information and post below.