What Happened to the Conficker Virus?

Many of us were wondering that after all the hype generated from the media over the Conficker virus. For most of us, it was the exact same thing as new years day in January of 2000, lots of media attention with little to show for it. The truth is, Microsoft issued a patch for the Conficker virus back in January before the virus was even activated. The trouble is, many people ignore the updates or simply have no idea how to get them. Reports from Microsoft state that as much as 30% of users have not updated their systems yet.

The Conficker threat is still very real. The virus is estimated to be lying dormant on over 10 million computers and that's a very conservative estimate according to some sources. The biggest problem with this virus is that it has not activated yet. Some believe it is waiting for stage two commands to be given to allow it to do terrible things such as copying the personal information from your computer or holding your computer hostage and locking it up unless you purchase special software.

The most reported sign that you have been infected with Conficker, or many other viruses, is that your computer runs noticeably slower or if you can no longer update your operating system or your anti-virus software. Most of these programs target your antivirus software first to prevent them from being detected. Once they disable your antivirus program, they are free to run amuck on your system and spread throughout your entire system.

How do you know if you are protected from this virus? The first thing you should do is make sure your operating system is updated. On most Microsoft systems you can click on the START button in the bottom left side of the screen and then select the ALL PROGRAMS option to display a list of all the applications on your computer. Search through the list and look for the WINDOWS UPDATE or MICROSOFT UPDATE option and select it. You may have to do this several times to make sure you get all the updates. Some updates are dependent on others and will not show up unless the first update is installed.

Once you have your system updates it is time to make sure your anti-virus software is updated. If you do not have anti-virus software on your computer then I recommend you look at my website below for some good FREE anti-virus solutions and answers to your antivirus software questions. After you update your anti-virus program be sure to run a manual scan of your entire system. If you have updated your system from the Microsoft site and your antivirus software is up to date then you should be protected from most of the bad things going around the internet today. The trick is to keep your systems updated and schedule a scan several times per month just to be sure nothing slipped through.

Check out my website for a Free Virus Scan and Removal. It contains links to free antivirus programs as well as reviews of what is available and tons of other FREE help for your issues.

Use a Free Malware Remover Online to Keep Your Computer Safe, Fast & Clean!

I'm pretty confident my computer is safe. I run an anti-virus program, and I really don't go to many strange places on the internet. Most of the sites I go to are perfectly safe. But sometimes, I still worry. What if I type an address wrong and I end up on a bad site that infects my computer. Or what happens if I am not paying attention, and download an attachment that is from a friend and it really wasn't sent from your friend, but something that is in their computer. There is cause for concern, the amount of malware, spyware, and other viruses are on the rise. Sometimes, it isn't too bad, and is more of a nuisance. But some programs are designed specifically to log every stroke you make on your keyboard, or even worse steal all your private information.

Even as sure as I am, that my computer is safe, I still take precautions. I have gone online, and found a few programs that help keep my computer clean. Some programs you can download will run in the background and work by keeping the malware off your computer in the first place. Other programs are meant to be run by the computer user and will find the infected files on your computer. Then it is as simple as checking the boxes, and deleting the files.

I run two preventative programs in the background all the time. I have an anti-virus program that is constantly scanning my computer. These programs use minimal resources, and will let me know the second something is suspicious. I also have three other programs that I use to scan my computer every few days. All of these programs were free online. Some programs say they will scan your computer for free, but in order to get anything fixed, you have to buy their software. In any case, you can do a basic internet search and read reviews of the different products that are available. The more you research, the better the chances that you will find what you need to keep your computer safe.

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