What's the Downadup/Conficker worm all about? Should I be worried about it?
Peter Bowyer
Downadup/Conficker has become somewhat famous as the biggest worm to hit Windows for several years: F-Secure has estimated that more than 9m PCs have been infected. It exploits a hole that Microsoft patched last October, but if you think you might have missed it, check that you have a folder called KB958644 in C:\Windows in the $hf_mig$ directory. If you suspect you have caught Downadup/Conficker, run Microsoft's free Malicious Software Removal Tool.
Downadup/Conficker can also attack in other ways, and uses Windows' AutoRun feature to infect computers via USB memory sticks. You can always stop Windows autorunning things by holding down the shift key, but it's probably better to disable this functionality. In Windows XP go to Start, select Run, and type (or paste) gpedit.msc into the box. When the Group Policy console appears, click Administrative Templates, go to System, and look towards the bottom right for the entry called "Turn off AutoPlay". Double-click this to bring up the Properties sheet, select the radio button for Disable, and click OK. In Vista, after gpedit.msc, go to Windows Components and select AutoPlay Policies.
Apart from Downadup/Conficker, Symantec has reported "an increase in malicious applications that use USB flash drive devices as a propagation method" (symantec.com).
