Is this just an April Fool’s Joke?

Bulletproof InfoTech has been tracking the Conficker Worm with all their variants that threaten the stable networking platforms of our business clients on April 1.  Since last November, despite the efforts of IT security professionals, system professionals and computer consultants worldwide this worms still poses a threat to business in Alberta.  However, it does appear that security professionals have been able to crack previous versions of this worm, but the battle isn’t over yet.  Their a new twist in the Conficker saga.

Now a new variant of the Conficker Worm has been made public.  Conficker.C is prepared to hit the wild on April Fool’s Day won’t have all the tools that Conficker.B used to replicate, but it will be able to detect and kill certain system processes such as antivirus or security software designed to find and remove it.

If you need the Microsoft Patch for the Conficker worm, you can get it here and select the version of Windows that you need.

What is Conficker.C set to do?

Conficker.C implements a number of behaviours set to cause harm to your Windows based computer systems.  The worm will attempt to disable Windows Automatic Update, stop access to the Windows Security System and detect the SysInternals Process Explorer.  It will also detect and kill programs that scan for malware on your computer system including antivirus and other spyware protection solutions.

Many reports from leading security firms verify how nasty this worm may be.  Spreading through network shares, USB disks, and removable storage leveraging the Windows Autorun function.   It is critically important that your computer systems have all the patches applied, your antivirus software up to date and any file sharing that is not required disabled as precautions to limit your risk of becoming infected with this worm.

What can a business owner in Alberta do?

Clients of Bulletproof who are on the netSHIELD managed computer and network services program will have all available system patches and security updates applied as part of their service.  If your business is not a member of the Bulletproof netSHIELD program you can still call into our office to ensure that your systems are looked after and your business risk is minimized to the threats this worm is set to cause on April 1, 2009.

Prevention is the best medicine, by having a security solution that blocks virus, worms and other malicious software is the first layer of protection, this includes the SonicWALL TZ190 or TZ210 firewalls with the Total Secure or Comprehensive Security software installed and scanning incoming and outgoing traffic.  The next layer is to have a leading antivirus solution, Bulletproof recommends the Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security solution and the last step is to ensure all your system updates are run.

David Boushy from Global TV covered the Conficker.C warm and the impact on Calgary residents and business on Global News, click to watch the video here.

If you would like technical details from Microsoft on Conficker, read here.

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