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Computer worm could activate worldwide April 1Apr 01, 2009 (The Beaumont Enterprise - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Conficker computer worm, a worldwide infection that could activate today, could be as harmless as April Fool's or as serious as robbery. The worm that already has wiggled into unprotected computers could get instructions today from its criminal creators possibly to steal personal information like bank account passwords. Or it could simply hijack your computer's operating capacity and force it, zombie-like, to help send out Internet-clogging spam messages. Most people with Microsoft operating systems in their home computers should be OK as long as they have Windows updates and functioning anti-virus programs, local information technology experts said. The same holds true for businesses with up-to-date protection on their networks, info techs added. Keith Davis, president of Application Factory Inc., a Beaumont systems development and programming company that serves the petrochemical industry, said a Conficker attack only would succeed against computers that don't have Microsoft updates. "The virus exploits a vulnerability in Windows. Microsoft released a patch in October, but the patch may not be all you need," he said. The patch is simply an update that Microsoft automatically sends out to its software. A computer receives it without the owner having to do anything except log on -- unless the owner has disengaged updates for some reason. "The reality is updates come in for a very good reason. There is no reason not to get updates," he said. An anti-virus program is just as essential, he said. Davis gave some perspective on the issue. "The worst thing Conficker can do is disproportionate to the amount of freaking out going on," he said. Sam James, vice president of information technology at the Mobiloil Federal Credit Union in Beaumont, said no one knows what Conficker is supposed to do -- if anything. Mobiloil recently withstood a "phishing scam" in which "robo-calls" -- random automated phone calls -- were placed to people in the 409 area code in an effort to lure them into divulging sensitive personal information. A similar attack occurred in Galveston, using the name of a bank there. Mobiloil president and chief executive Bob Hamer said Mobiloil does what everyone else does -- it keeps its security up-to-date. Cy Hoorman, Entergy Corp.'s director of information technology security, policy and governance, said Conficker is a threat to everyone. "Make sure your PC is fully patched and has an anti-virus package. If you do that, the likelihood your computer is infected is extremely small. But in computers, you never say never," he said. The question of what might happen today remains. Will it be denial of services because Conficker will launch a cascade of messages that crowds out otherwise valid traffic? Or will it begin to siphon money from bank accounts on-line that are supposed to be password-protected? "The real focus is on crime," Hoorman said. "Cyber crime is big business. I've heard it said that cyber crime in dollar value exceeds the value of the international drug trade. Whether that's true, it's sobering that someone thinks that." Hoorman advises people to use different passwords for various sites, keeping separate passwords for things like credit cards and bank accounts. Also, the basics are the best, he said. Maintain the updates on your computer. Don't turn off the automatic updates and keep the anti-virus fresh. Mobiloil's Hamer said another way to check whether your computer is infected is to see if you can open the Microsoft Web site that allows you to check for worm infections. "If you can't get to the Web site, it's likely you've lost control of your computer to Conficker," he said. The fix for that is to download anti-virus software on an uninfected computer to a portable drive and upload it onto the infected computer and let the program clear it. An aim of the Conficker creators could be to control enough computers to wreak havoc on the Internet. However, Mobiloil -- and most companies -- don't have the volume of customers with computers to make trouble specifically for each one. "It won't work on a small scale," he said. "No one here is big enough to be a target." To see more of The Beaumont Enterprise, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.www.beaumontenterprise.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The Beaumont Enterprise, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |