Conficker pings its servers

Posted by Robert Siciliano on April 1st, 2009

Robert Siciliano is a NextAdvisor.com Expert Guest Blogger

The day has arrived and the world is watching. Conficker has reached out but has yet to deliver any new malware.

Computer World reports, "We have observed that Conficker is reaching out, but so far none of the servers they are trying to reach are serving any new malware or any new commands," said Toralv Dirro, a security strategist at McAfee Avert Labs, in Germany.

The sense is that Conficker's developers know that IT security professionals are watching closely, and are waiting for the noise to die down before making their next update.

A virus of this kind has enough juice to wait around for the white hats to drop their guard, and then strike.

However, there are cures to Conficker. The longer they wait, the more PCs will be cured.

Microsoft has posted more information about Conficker and its symptoms.

McAfee has detailed instructions on how to remove Conficker.

You may need an IT administrator to do the dirty work, as it's a bit complicated in some cases.

See Robert Siciliano, identity theft speaker, discuss viruses.

Robert Siciliano is CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com , an identity theft expert, professional speaker, security analyst, published author and television news correspondent. Siciliano works with Fortune 1000 companies and startups as an advisor on product launches, branding, messaging, representation, SEO and media. Siciliano's thoughts and advice on all these matters appear often in both the televised and print news media including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, FOX, Forbes and USA Today. He has 25 years of security training as a member of the American Society of Industrial Security. He is the author of 2 books, including The Safety Minute: Living on High Alert; How to take control of your personal security and prevent fraud. He's also partnered with Uni-Ball to help raise awareness about the growing threat of identity theft and to provide tips on how you can protect yourself.