URGENT - Windows PC owners - take immediate heed!! (Mac owners - go back to having fun.)
Two cautionary tales for you that require IMMEDIATE attention:
Firstly - There is a worm (malware) that has infected many computers on the Internet and will activate itself on 1 April (and, no, this isn't a joke) called Conficker.C. Read more about it here and get a free tool to remove it here. If you don't do this, you are looking for trouble on the 1st. Read the article, run the removal tool. If you don't think you have it, run the tool anyway. You are much better off safe than sorry.
Secondly - Botnets are bad news. They are trojan horses that get on your system without you knowing it and they send whatever you do on your computer to someone you don't want to share the information with and you don't want to know (i.e., bad people). This article, posted on the MSNBC site, gives unsettling information about the breadth of this problem. BE AWARE, you may be infected and not know it.
HOW TO DO YOUR VERY BEST TO MAKE SURE YOUR DATA IS PRIVATE (besides never getting on the Internet):
Make sure your Internet security software is up to date and that your system has been scanned lately. (If you only have anti-virus software, you probably aren't protected. Get a full Internet security package.*) If you have even the slightest concern (and you should always have plenty of it, especially if you do any online banking, stock trading, purchasing of online goods, or log into ANY site whatsoever - which means YOU!), use a free online scanner to check out your PC. While online scanners typically do not remove harmful stuff from your computer, they at least alert you to problems not picked up by your security software. Remember (or KNOW if no one has told you this before), when malware gets loaded on your computer, the first thing it does is disable your security software from being able to detect the bad stuff. As a result, it is a good idea to perform an online scan every once in a while just to make sure everything's copasetic.
In my next post, I will discuss which Internet security product I suggest and why.
Thirdly - have you noticed how so many people use transition words (such as "firstly", "secondly", and more) incorrectly? I see so many news articles and hear many people just say "first" or "second". Poor English! (Another pet peeve of mine and the subject of another post. Oh, yeah, and MBH, be aware that I know that there are one or two things I say incorrectly. I am trying to be more cognizant of them.)
Lastly - "Be carful out there!"
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* - A full Internet security package consists of a number of protection features, including anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-phishing, anti-adware, possibly some other antis, and definitely a firewall. Some include parental controls to keep kids from accidentally or intentionally going to bad places on the Internet. Internet security packages are all updated constantly trying to keep up with the bad guys out there.
There are computer people out there that feel you should buy or download free copies of the individual aspects of Internet security products. Having worked with homeowners and small businesses for years, I know they will not keep up with individual products, because it takes lots of time. So use a whole package.
Posted by Sid Plait at 3/29/2009 2:45 PM 
Categories: Malware, Windows Vista, All, Internet, PC Security, Identity Theft, Bad News!, Windows XP
Categories: Malware, Windows Vista, All, Internet, PC Security, Identity Theft, Bad News!, Windows XP
Thanks for Enigma Software's tool. It said I luckily did not have it on my system. Should I run it each day before the 1st?
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Well, since today is March 30, you will only have to run it today and tomorrow to be sure.
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"(Mac owners - go back to having fun.)" And Linux, thank you very much.
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Of course. Sorry, Mike!
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The enigmasoftware site is not working.
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Sindra -
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One of the "features" of this worm is the ability to block access to domains or security programs that can remove it.
This page has a list of alternate tools. They also have some instructions if you can't access any of those site.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=4053
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Thanks. I have run it again today and will continue to do so until I hear that all clear from you. So far, so good.
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The enigma site is not working for me either but I did find a copy of the tool on cnet for anyone else having trouble:
http://download.cnet.com/Conficker-Removal-Tool/3000-2239_4-10911447.html
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OptimusShr and Art -
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Now, before Mac and Linux users get too smug, I think that they should realize that the reason why "bad people" target the Windows operating system with computer viruses, 'worms', or 'Trojans', is the same reason why Al-Qaeda terrorists targeted the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, rather than the U.K. -- a successful 'hit' on a big target by an attacker results in an immediate rise of its status amongst its peers. For this reason, during "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland, IRA terrorists used to boast: "A bomb in London is worth ten bombs in Belfast." So if, in future, Mac or Linux were to become the predominant Operating System, the hackers would simply switch their attacks onto them; whereas now, Mac and Linux OS -- especially Linux with its 'open source' software -- doesn't provide much of a challenge to your would-be hacker.
On the subject of grammar, I also have noticed, like you have Sid, how so many people -- like Phil, your little brother -- use transition words (such as "firstly", "secondly", and more) incorrectly, and instead just write or say "first" or "second". Furthermore, a pet peeve of mine, is the use of "But" and especially the over use of "And" at the beginning of sentences -- Phil is guilty of this, too -- because those two words are conjunctions: "but" and also "and" -- except for special literary effect, such as poems -- should normally be used within a single sentence.
So, instead of "but", words such as "however", "still", or "nevertheless" should follow a semicolon or full stop/period; instead of "and", words such as "furthermore", "also", or "moreover" should be used at the beginning of sentences, with a comma following the introductory word in both cases.
I have often noticed Phil Plait making those grammatical errors on his blog at Bad (grammar) Astronomy, but I have refrained from mentioning it to him (except on those occasions when he confuses "it's" with "its" or vice-versa
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I will address your comments on grammar later, although I agree with much (if not all) of what you said regarding that.
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Thank you, Sid, for taking the time to respond to my comment, which I greatly appreciate, and I'm replying in case you're worried that I've buggered off. Also, I look forward to reading your views on grammar at a later date. (Hmm... I note that I have made a minor punctuation error, in my previous post above, in the second paragraph, first line -- there should be a comma before your name in addition to the one after. I'm self-correcting, as well as of others!)
Regarding your comment that "the Mac operating system is superior to the Windows OSs", I don't depute that at all and I'll take your word for it, as you have a lot more experience with computers than I have! In fact, I think that if Mac machines and Windows PCs were cars, the Mac would be a Mercedes; whereas the PC would be a Ford F150/350 pick-up truck: The former is cool and stylish, but the latter is more practical, as most third party software will only run on computers with the Windows OS -- which is why I have opted for a Windows-based machine.
Regarding the choice of machine and your recommendation that Windows-based clients should get themselves "either Dell or HP business-class, or Sony PCs". Well, I'm glad that you have stated that because I have an excellent performing Dell "Inspiron 9100" with a Pentium IV, 3 GHz processor (with three built-in cooling fans!), which I had purchased in autumn 2004; it was then Dell's flagship notebook computer, boasting the power of a desktop computer in a notebook form (it has a mass of 4 kg!), which was one of the first to have the, then, latest 15.4 inch WXGA LCD screen -- those are the reasons why I chose that model.
Apart from a few software issues -- AOL 9.0 browser (which I had been using while I was relying on bloody dial-up Internet!) conflicting with Windows OS -- I've not had any hardware trouble with my Dell "Inspiron 9100" computer -- a bulky and heavy notebook by today's standards, but excellent nonetheless.
Regards, Ivan.
P.S. Can one use some HTML tags, e.g., italics, bold, etc., in the comment section of this blog?
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Try using the tags and see what happens. They should work, since they work for me when I comment. (See)!
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My company's Trend Micro security software blocks access to that download. Warning message: Threat details:
Verified fraud page or threat source.
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The Enigma Software site says the removal tool runs on Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, or XP. When I tried it on a Windows/2000 system, however, it said "Only Windows XP or better is supported."
There is an update for this vulnerability available from Microsoft
here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx
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What about people who have a Wine distribution. Mine is only supposed to work with video games but should i run it anyway?
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Andrew, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. It has been a hectic few days.
Everyone running Windows needs to run this removal tool. If you have the worm, you can still lose your valuable personal information.
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Sid Plait: "[T]ry restarting the PC if you haven't done that in the last few hours. Sometimes Windows machines get a little loopy and need to have their RAM cleared."
I'm glad you said that; I thought it was just me!
Sid Plait: "EVERYONE, make sure that you have run Windows Update and have downloaded all the High Priority ones. DO THAT NOW."
There is NO excuse for people, with Windows machines, neglecting to TURN ON its automated update facility!
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[Rant]
Q: What do I think of "Internet Explorer 8" so far?
A: RUBBISH!
IE8 crawls like a bloody snail! I've checked out computer forums and other uses have similar problems. WTF is going on?
[/Rant]
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First of all, I haven't downloaded and installed it yet because I read many comments online about its issues, and I don't have time to debug anyone's software for them.
As to what's going on, I suspect this is another issue of Microsoft not being able to test a product under all conditions before a beta test. That's why you run beta tests. It is absolutely impossible to anticipate how a software product will react when it is installed in a user's environment, unless that user has a brand new installation of the OS and is running nothing more than other Microsoft products and a few of the biggies from other manufacturers. Running a beta test gives Microsoft (or any company developing software) the ability to test their products under real-life environments. (I used to design, develop, test, and manage the development of high tech products years ago, so I know whereof I speak!)
As I said in the original post, Microsoft is a professional, capable company. I know they are analyzing the results of the test as seen so far and will fix whatever the issues are. They really do do a great job. We just have to be patient.
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Internet Explorer 8 is like a new pair of shoes: It looks nice at first, but have embarrassing squeaks when you walk in them; they are stiff and pinch your toes causing you blisters; consequently, they slow down your normal pace of walking, so you decide to go back to wearing your old pair instead -- they are scruffy, but at least they are comfortable!
So, I've decided to uninstall IE8 and revert back to IE7 -- IE8 still needs some 'breaking in' time!
In case you're wondering, I do have and use Firefox 3.0.8. Also, I have Apple Safari (on a Windows-based PC!), and Google Chrome (beta) installed.
Furthermore, I do agree with you that "Microsoft is a professional, capable company".
Last year, I had an issue with MSN Explorer -- an extension of IE, which I use mainly for MSN Hotmail -- which I had reported to MSN Microsoft. Their response was prompt and they advised me to uninstall the (free) UK version, which they no longer supported, and install the (free) US version instead. It works fine now.
P.S. I've just noticed that, in my last post above, I should have written "users", not "uses". D'oh! Why do I always notice such errors AFTER I have posted the bloody comment?!
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It is truly hard to proof your own work. I read my posts at least four times before approving them, and I still sometimes have to go back and fix something about half the time. There's something about having committed the document to printing that changes my perspective and all of the sudden the errors pop out at me. It sounds like you have the same issue going on. I wonder if that's common?
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I often have to write manuals for software that I have written.
Rather than write a manual from scratch, I dive into my ever growing archive and pull out an appropriate file and modify it to suit. More often than not I find embarrassing errors in both spelling and grammar, even in manuals that I have "re-heated" several times over and found errors in before.
Danish is my first language and in the beginning I tried to let my Australian or English colleagues do some proof reading but they never seemed to pick up on any of it.
I have never received a complaint from a customer, but I suspect they don't read the manuals.
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Thomas and Ivan -
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Thanks for the info!
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Haha yeah, my Mac friends keep making fun of my Internet security packages. My next computer will be a Mac! In any case, yeah, security is really important with Windows. I'm very careful myself but I've seen the problems bad security can cause...
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Very useful post! Got more information on how to secure the private data, really worth to read the article, sure full Internet security package will be more helpful. Thanks for the share! Keep posting!!
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This is a nasty situation indeed. I had no idea the first thing a malware does is to disable the security software from being able to detect it. I always thought my antivirus sees it before it takes any action. Thanks for the information, I'll make sure to scan my PC right away.
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