Virus Alert: Conficker

When executed on a computer this virus (also known as downadup or kido) disables a number of system services such as Windows Automatic Update, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender and Windows Error Reporting. It then propagates, gathers personal information, and downloads and installs additional malware onto the victim's computer.

If you have your system set to automatically install updates then you will be ok. If not, then first perform a manual update: go to the update site and check / download all your latest updates.

Please note that you need to be in Internet Explorer for this link to work! If you are using Firefox, Chrome or some other browser then copy this: http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/ and paste it into Internet Explorer! [And people ask me why I don't like IE!]. You can also 'right click' my link (update site) and choose 'copy link location' to put this in your clipboard and then paste this into IE.

After or instead of this, you can go direct to this page to choose the update you need. Find your version of IE and then your Operating System (this is typically the first option for XP users.

I recommend that you get the updates delivered automatically to your PC. When your computer is on and connected to the Internet, the most current security updates are automatically downloaded and installed. To learn how to turn on automatic updating for your particular operating system, see Update your computer automatically.

I also recommend that you install and keep uptodate a good quality antivirus program. Please see my artilce on Malware Protection for adive and free programs to protect your computer.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Security