Computer Experts are Reporting: On April 1st, the 12 million infected computers are programmed to connect to whoever is controlling them. No one knows what will happen next. One guess is that the virus will change itself and just be harder to detect or remove. A more worst case scenario is the infected computers will be used to try to take down the Internet. There is very little doubt that all the gathered financial information - sign-ons and passwords - will definitely be used either by the creators or sold to criminals around the world to steal money. The power of this network is so great that the hackers will be able to sell time on it to criminals to send spam, send users to fake sites, gather personal financial information or worse. Whoever wrote the virus is extremely advanced and knowledgeable about complex programming. It is suspected the hackers are in Russia, where it is considered a great thing to steal money from Americans. They are treated like heroes for doing so.
Every security company, including Microsoft, Secure Works, TrendMicro, Symantec , MacAfee, etc. are working around the clock trying to figure out when the virus will trigger and what the 12 million computers well be asked to do when it does. The computers, possibly YOUR home computer, are completely controlled by this virus and you wouldn't know you have it. All your keystrokes, including bank account sign-ons and passwords are recorded along with every web page you visit. The creators of this virus can change the instructions to all 12 million computers with a keystroke.
For those of you running home networks or simply Internet connected PC's, you need to be as protected as you possibly can be. Make sure your Microsoft patches are kept up to date and make sure you are updating and running your anit-virus software properly. This will help keep Conflicker out of your system. I know many of us of you are now addicted to Facebook, but be very, very careful in that Web 2.0 environment. I'm not suggesting you turn it off, but don't dare download anything from there...even if it is a link from another person on Facebook that you know and trust. This includes watching videos or listening to a song. This also goes for the free screensavers people like to download or any other free program that is not work related. And don't read or follow links in joke emails that require the reader to click on a link that goes out to the Internet. Bring this into your computing life and it won't be productive for yoru business or your personal financial security. There are lots of companies infected with the virus. As reported on 60 minutes, even CBS was infected with the virus, as was EBay and many other big companies.
How to Protect Your Home Computer:
Again, make sure you have the latest Microsoft patches. In Internet Explorer go to Tools and Windows Update and install all the updates it says you need.
Make sure you have virus software and that it is updated daily....Trendmicro.com, Symantec.com, Zonealarm.com or McAfee.com....just to name a few. Some of these include a software firewall, which you will need if you are running Windows 2000.
Make sure you have a firewall protecting your home computer, either hardware or software. Software is the easiest. If you run Windows XP or Windows Vista, it is built in. Google how to make sure it is turned on. If you have Windows 2000, buy one with one of the virus products mentioned above or get the free firewall at Zonealarm.com.
Go to this Microsoft site and let it scan your computer. There is a choice of two scans and the first one usually takes about three hours. It will clean your computer of this virus and clean up other things as well. DO NOT RUN THIS SCAN ON YOUR WORK COMPUTER...IT WILL REMOVE THE SOFTWARE WE USE TO REMOTELY CONTROL YOUR COMPUTER. At the end they will try to sell it to you, but you don't need to buy it for it to clean your computer.
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm
Finally, teach your kids and other family members to only download from safe sites, which do not include MySpace.com, Facebook.com or most gaming websites. Only download music from trusted sites like ITunes. If you Google something and when you try to click on the link Google tells you it is an unsafe site, believe them. Don't override it and go there anyway.
You will know if you have the virus if you can no longer go to the Windows Update site or any of the sites offering virus software.
As my IT team gets additional updates and other experts in the field, I will provide that information. In the meantime, be smart, be safe and be virus free!
Kym Talbert - Prudential California Realty
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