Computer virus no joke

(Originally published by me on EastOfIndy.com)

Back in October, Microsoft released a security patch for Windows XP and Windows Vista that was out of the normal patch schedule to fix a huge security problem that had been recently discovered. There were web articles, newspaper articles, TV news stories, magazine articles, and several other methods to get the word out to get people to install the patch and protect their systems.

Anyone who didn't patch right away should have gotten their patch with their monthly updates, which are sent out the second Tuesday of each month.

Still, millions of people have not yet downloaded the patch. In fact, some estimates say that as many as 30% of all Windows computers are not patched, and that infections could be as high as 15 million computers.

This worm, known as Conflicker, Downup, Downadup, or Kido, is set to really tackle the web starting on April 1. Unfortunately, this is no April Fool's Joke.

On April 1, the infected computers will start checking for an update to the virus, and will download that update directly to the infected computer. This will, at best, slow down the Internet as millions of computers simultaneously try to access the same information. At worst, it could cause some serious problems to the Internet.

It is not yet known exactly what the new update will do to infected computers. But the current infection tries to break the system passwords to the infected computer, and collect information from your computer, among other undesirable tasks.

All Windows users should go to http://update.microsoft.com and make sure the latest security patches have been downloaded and installed. It is also a good idea to make sure that anti-virus programs are up-to-date and running.