The Conficker worm is starting to awaken, and is now turning infected Windows PCs into spam email servers. The worm is also installing Spyware Protect 2009.
It has been estimated that over 10 million computers have been infected with the Conficker A/k/a Kido worm. It uses several different attack surfaces such as the Windows autorun feature to sprread the worm form USB drives. The best way to tell if your infected is by visiting sites such as microsoft.com, or other security sites. Should you be unable to reach these sites, there is a high probablity your infected.
The worm is all about stealing your passwords, bank account, and credit card information. So what can you do to prevent it? First make sure your Windows PCs are fully patched, and run the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal tool. Also applications such as GFi EndPointSecurity can be used to disable AutoRun on USB devices, as well as optical drives.Download software from sources you trust is also vital.
Microsoft is offering a $250,000 reward for the arrest of the individuals of those who are responsible. It is my opinion that the offer is far too low in contrast to the seriousness of the Conficker worm. I'm betting there are consumers and smart business people who will consider Macs or Linux boxes because of safety. Hopefully, Microsoft will take a larger stand for it's user community.
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