April Fool’s Day seems like a good time for hoaxes and phony scares, but this year a real threat is out there and is set to launch Wednesday, April 1. The threat, a computer virus called Conficker and also known as Downadup, is currently circulating on the Internet infecting unprotected Windows computers.
Unfortunately, Conficker spreads from computer to computer with little or no human involvement, using a security hole in Microsoft Window’s operating systems. The hole was repaired and security patches were issued by Microsoft, so it is important to ensure you have applied the Microsoft security patch that was issued back in October 2008.
If your Windows system is set up to do Automatic Updates on your system, you should already have the patch. However, although the patch has been widely available since October, there are still many computers that have not been patched. Do a Google keyword search on Google and type in Microsoft security patch 2008 to learn how to get and apply the patch.
The second thing to do is make sure your computer has current antivirus software installed. You can do a Google keyword search and type in antivirus Conficker removal to learn how to safely and securely install antivirus software, run the software and remove Conficker if necessary. A combination of these two practices will ensure your Windows computer will not be fooled on April 1st this year.
Contact the Information Assurance office at 277-1212 or send an e-mail to security@unm.edu if you have questions or concerns about your system being infected by Conficker.
Media Contact: Vanessa Baca, (505) 277-0987; e-mail: vjbaca1@unm.edu