We have received several queries from clients about the so-called Conficker virus scheduled to deliver a payload on April 1^st. It’s getting a lot of attention in the news this week because of the April 1^st date, but it really isn’t a bigger threat than scores of other viruses in the wild we confront every day.

Here’s some of the news hype from last week’s New York Times:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/the-conficker-worm-april-fools-joke-or-unthinkable-disaster/

Generally, if you keep your computer up to date with Microsoft security patches and have an up-to-date antivirus program, you need not worry about Conficker. In our routine virus scans on more than 1,000 systems, we’ve seen only a few instances of Conficker in the last six months. And those have been on systems riddled with other viruses.

Here’s a good question and answer summary of the virus from the antivirus company F-Secure:

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00001636.html

To be safe, you should perform a Windows update by going to http://update.microsoft.com/ and installing any “high-priority” updates.

You can also make sure your antivirus program is up to date and scan for viruses to make sure you have no existing infections. Any up-to-date antivirus program will detect Conficker.

If you need some help with these functions or want to be extra safe, feel free to contact us by sending a request to bwsupport@bitwits.com and we can help you check your systems before Wednesday.

Brad Patten

BitWits LLC

5025 N. Central Avenue, #650 

Phoenix, AZ  85012-1520

Phone: 602.445.7600 x601

Fax: 602.445.7610

www.bitwits.com