Protect Your Computer and Data from the Conficker Virus

By now I am sure you have heard that there is a worm scheduled to execute on April 1st. The name of the worm is called Conficker and at the time of this post, it is unknown what the payload of this worm will be.

Here are some things you can do to help protect your computer from this threat. Since we are not sure what the intent of this worm is or even if it will actually execute on April 1st, you should take precautions to protect your computer and your data.

Make sure to do your Windows Updates. If you cannot do them, be careful since this can be a sign that you are infected. The virus disables Windows updates in order to protect itself.

Make sure your antivirus software is up to date. Run a full scan to make sure you are not infected. Use the online scanner from ESET since it is free and will clean infections found on your computer. www.eset.com

Run malware bytes from www.malwarebytes.com. This is a powerful utility and does an excellent job in detecting and removing even stuborn threats.

Use the DNS servers from OpenDNS.com. This is a free service and can stop the communication of the conficker virus with websites.

Backup your data. Since no one knows what this worm will do, it could be possible that it will be destructive and there is always a chance you could end up with data loss.

If you backup to an external hard drive, make sure to unplug this from the computer in case the worm is capable of detecting external data sources.

Don’t use a USB device such as a memory stick on another computer without scanning it for viruses. The worm is designed to spread using the autorun feature of Windows.

Make sure the Windows Security Center is working before April 1st. This virus will disable this component of Windows in order to protect itself from being detected.

I hope this helps you keep your computer and data safe.