Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Protect Your Windows PC from the Conficker Worm [How To] . The Conficker worm has infected millions of Windows computers—and is set to be unleashed on April 1st, 2009. Here's what you need to know to keep yourself safe. What is the Conficker Worm? Microsoft released an update in October to resolve a critical security hole in the Windows "Server" service. Since people aren't as diligent about patching as they should be, hackers created a new worm that spread like wildfire, leaving systems completely under their control. Security researchers have determined that the virus is expected to go "live" on April 1st, 2009, causing your computer to do bad things—but since the worm uses a P2P protocol it's nearly impossible to identify the source. How Does It Spread? The worm originally started spreading using a network attack against the file sharing services in Windows, but since it can automatically update itself, it adapted to spread through the autoplay feature on removable media like USB thumb drives, by adding a new option to open where you see "publisher not specified". This allows the worm to spread to systems already patched against the original vulnerability, so using anti-virus software is even more important, because once it's on your computer it can spread further. Is My Computer Affected? Most anti-virus software has already been able to detect and remove the Conficker worm for a while now, so you are probably not at risk as long as you keep up with your updates and have real-time scanning enabled. To actually detect and remove the worm, you can use the freely available Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool that can remove a large number of viruses—for a full guide, I've also written an article on how to scan and remove malicious viruses. How Do I Stay Safe? Staying safe from this, and many other viruses and worms, requires a combination of keeping your computer updated and using anti-virus software. Here's a couple of quick tips to follow: Make sure your system is fully patched using Windows Update, and update MS08-067 has been applied. Make sure your anti-virus is fully updated, enabled, and you've run a full scan. Make sure you are using strong passwords (see our guide to choosing great passwords). Disable the AutoPlay feature—which Conficker uses to infect systems. Make sure your firewall is enabled when you are on untrusted networks. Make sure your data is backed up—if you aren't sure what to use, see our five best Windows backup tools. Keeping your system and your data safe is extremely important, so make sure to take some time out of your day to keep your system patched, updated, and virus-free. Hit the link for Microsoft's explanation of the situation, or check out my article on scanning and removing malicious viruses for the walk-through approach. Protect yourself from the Conficker computer worm [Microsoft] [Lifehacker] 4:55:13 PM     Michigan Department of Community Health Launches Facebook Page. The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has launched a fan page on the global social networking site, Facebook. The MDCH fan page is an interactive forum for health-related topics. The MDCH Facebook page will be updated with health and department-related information. Anyone who is a member of Facebook can join the MDCH Facebook Page as a "fan." Those who are not members of Facebook can still view the MDCH Facebook Page, but you will need to join Facebook to interact. Through Facebook the department continues to promote the Breast and Prostate Cancer Income Tax Check-offs for Michigan residents to show their support in the fight against cancer by contributing to two cancer funds when filing their state income taxes. Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Michigan, and the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Michigan women. In 2005, more than 7,000 women in Michigan were diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly 1,500 Michigan women died of the disease in 2006. Dollars collected go directly to the Michigan Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, which provides free breast and cervical cancer screening services to low-income women in our state. Prostate cancer has been the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Michigan since the late 1980s. In 2005, more than 7,500 Michigan men were diagnosed with prostate cancer with 899 men dying of the disease in 2006. Currently, there are more than 71,000 prostate cancer survivors in our state. Donations designated for the Prostate Cancer Research Fund will be used to support prostate cancer research in Michigan. One hundred percent of money collected from the funds stay in Michigan. Your donation can make a difference and help save a life of a loved one now and for generations to come. Learn more about the Breast and Prostate Cancer Income-Tax Check-Offs at www.michigancancer.org or at the Facebook Fan Page MI Tax Check Offs to Fight Cancer. For the full article, see "Michigan Department of Community Health Launches Facebook Page", Michigan Newswire, March 26, 2009. [Red Tape Blog] 4:53:06 PM

© Copyright 2009 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 4/1/2009; 2:33:47 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien