How To Secure Yourself Against Conficker Worm

Windows Operating System users across the globe have been concerned about the Conficker worm striking back this April 1 2009.

Anti-virus and security solutions providing companies like Symantec, and others are however singing a relieved tune. That's because they say they're prepared to tackle it.
What's this Conficker worm anyway?

Infects Windows machines (XP and Vista) and disables them to get security updates or patches from Microsoft and from other vendors. According to Symantec, the creators of the worm will also start using a communications system that is more difficult for security researchers to identify.
How will Conficker harm users?

While no one knows what exactly Conficker will actually do, most likely, the worm will be used to create a bot net that will be rented out to criminals who want to send SPAM, steal IDs and direct users to online scams and phishing sites.

What can be done to protect a computer
from this worm?

First of all, update your anti-virus software. Especially on April 1, make sure that it's actually running when you start your computer. Secondly, make sure that you have the latest Windows security updates.

You should know:

1. Changing the date of your system will not help avoid this worm.
2. Keeping your computer shut on April 1 will also not help either.
3. The only way to get past this worm is by updating Windows and your anti-virus software.

Conficker History

The 'B' variant of the Conficker worm had created ruckus around January 2009. By February, it had affected over 9.1 million Windows users worldwide. Perturbed by the virus, Microsoft had even announced to pay reward of $250,001 to any individual who'll find out the culprits behind Conficker.

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Password-Manipulating Virus Spreading

A new pc virus that attacks the system password, manipulates and eventually blocks the user to log in to the computer is spreading, reported Sunday.

The virus, an advanced form of ``Win32.HLLW.Shadow.based'' that showed up last month, locks up the computer, resulting in log in error. It also paralyzes the network by overloading the traffic on the 445 port.

Virus removal support is available on the website http://www.iyogi.co.uk

The vaccine provider also advises computer users to regularly change their computer passwords and update Windows security. Once infected, the virus detours the radar of the previously installed vaccine program on the computer and makes it undeletable, the company said.

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Review of Windows 7 Beta

2 years ago, Microsoft released Windows Vista, as the successor to Windows XP, the much-maligned, but in the end quite popular operating system. Windows Vista support wasn't a very enjoyable operating system to use early on its lifetime. It was slow, full of bugs, and had various software and hardware compatibility issues. To make matters worse, Microsoft decided to offer 239472397 different versions, with ever such descriptive names. The cheaper versions had features removed on a seemingly arbitrary basis, and the full version was far too expensive for most people.

Under the earthquake of problems, it was easy to miss the immense changes Microsoft had made to Windows' inner workings. Vista delivered a completely new network stack, a shiny new audio stack, a new graphics subsystem, system-wide search, a vast list of security features, and many, many other improvements. So many, in fact, that it became painfully obvious that Microsoft had bitten off more than it could chew.

However, as time went on, Microsoft worked hard to improve Vista. The Redmond software giant delivered performance improvements, bug fixes, and fixed all sorts of little niggles. In addition, they tweaked the hated (but very successful) User Account Control to show less prompts, which made the first few days after a new Vista installation a little less clickety-clickety. Many people concluded that Vista was an infrastructure release, on which Microsoft would build future versions of Windows. Vista was the cut-off point, the sour apple they had to bite through in order to modernise the Windows platform.

Details regarding Vista's successor soon emerged, but they were few and far in between. The new Windows chief, Sinofsky, kept a very tight lid on what information came out of Redmond regarding the next Windows release, having learned from the Vista debacle where the company promised more than it could deliver. No more promises, no more disappointments. The few details that did make it out made it clear that Microsoft wasn't planning yet another massive restructuring of Windows: Windows 7, as it would be called, would build on top of Vista, and offer various refinements all across the board.

Since then, the Engineering 7 weblog has kept us up to date on Windows 7's development, and offered various insights into why certain decisions were made during its development. The first public demonstrations of Windows 07 were met with fairly positive reviews all over the technology media, and the aficionado crowd was eager to get their hands on the first Windows beta.

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How To Resolve Windows Defender start-up Error

You may have noticed following windows start – up error in windows xp or windows 2000

Windows Defender
Application failed to initialize: 0x800106ba. A problem caused Windows Defender
Service to stop. To start the service, restart your computer or search Help and
Support on how to start a service manually.

The issue is that Windows Defender Beta support ended on December 30, 2006. Now,
I would have expected this software license expire error to let you know a bit more elegantly.
The good news is that if your are running Windows XP, there is a easy resolution. Simply
go to Microsoft.com and look for the "Download Windows Defender" link near the bottom
of the home page. Follow the download and install instructions, and you will be up
to date, protected and will have fixed the start-up error in just minutes.

Now for the bad news...
If you are running Windows 2000, Microsoft has decided to no longer support the Windows
Defender product for the Windows 2000 platform. You can fix the start-up error by uninstalling
Windows Defender from the Add/Remove Programs in your Control Panel. Unfortunately,
this will leave you unprotected from Spyware and Malware. Since Microsoft is no longer
providing a Spyware protection product for Windows 2000, you will need to purchase a third
party product in order to be protected in the future.

I must say that I am more than annoyed by this decision at Microsoft to discontinue the
Windows Defender product for Windows 2000. I am a big fan of Windows 2000 as it has been one

of the most stable operating system made by Microsoft to date. I am aware that Microsoft
has discontinued official support for Win2k as of June 30, 2005. Actually, it has
entered the "Extended Support Phase" for the Win2k product. This means they will have "extended" support until June 2010... without Spyware protection! This is like the proverbial knife in the back for existing Win2k users. Actually, more like the proverbial gun to the head to get you to upgrade to Windows Vista.

Now, there is no doubt that Windows XP and Vista are a much better protected operating systems right out of the box. In the networks that I support, XP Pro SP2 or Windows 2003 Server is the standard for any new deployments. I just resent the gun to the head thing!
For Win2k users, you will obviously make your own decision about this dilemma in which I see you have three choices:

1) Uninstall Windows Defender and just take your chances on operating without Spyware protection.

2) Uninstall Windows Defender and purchase a third party Spyware protection product.

3) Decide to put your money towards the upgrade to XP or Vista, which will include the free
Spyware protection.

I would not recommend choice 1. The Internet is just too dangerous of a place to venture without
protection. You may choose choice 2 because you love Win2k and just do not want to hassle with
the potential upgrade headaches. Or, you may choose 3 because you are up to the upgrade task and
you feel it make more sense to invest in the future.

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Uninstall third-party security programs in windows vista

Important These steps may increase your security risk. These steps may also make the computer or the network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users 0r by malicious software such as viruses. We suggest the process that this article describes to enable programs to 0perate as they are designed to or to apply specific program capabilities. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this process in your particular environment. If you decide to implement this process, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect the system. We suggest that you use this process only if you really require this process.

Perhaps a third-party security application, such as an antivirus application, a firewall, or an antispyware application, may still be causing the installation failure even after you have tried to disable these applications. The Windows Vista SP1 installation requires several restarts of the computer, and the security application may be reloading after the first restart. Applications that provide registry repair features may also cause this issue.

You should consider uninstalling your third-party security application before you install Windows Vista SP1 only if you are positive that you can reinstall the application as soon as the Windows Vista SP1 installation is complete. To reinstall the third-party security application, you will either need the original installation media for the application, or you will need the original download. You may also need a product key to reinstall the third-party security application.
As soon as you are sure that you can reinstall the third-party security application, uninstall the application from the Programs and Features item in Control Panel. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click StartStart button.
2. Type programs in the Start Search box, and then click Programs and Features.
3. Click the name 0f the security program that you want to uninstall, and then click Uninstall.
4. After you uninstall the program, restart the computer.
5. Try to install Windows Vista SP1 from the Windows Update site or from the Microsoft Update site. Or, try to install Windows Vista SP1 from the full download package.

Notes • You have uninstalled your security software, and your computer is more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We recommend that you do not surf the Web, use e-mail, or use Instant Messenger, until you have finished troubleshooting the issue, and you have reinstalled your security software.

• If you have already downloaded the full download package to your computer, try to install Windows Vista SP1 from the full download package. This step may let you avoid using the Internet.

6. After you have completed the Windows Vista SP1 installation, reinstall the security program that you uninstalled in step 3

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Software Tools to Clean up Your Computer

Uninstall unwanted programs and toolbars:

This is easier said than done. I know there would be plenty of unwanted programs, toolbars and applications that we would like to throw off from our PC or laptop. But, the mess is they won't go. Some programs would install, but wouldn't let you to uninstall. Most of the malicious programs and stealthy toolbars use this technique to remain in your PC for a long time. The Add/Remove Programs tool from the Control Panel won' help much. But, there is a free tool available which is called, "Perfect Uninstaller".

Perfect Uninstaller - This works better than the default Add/Remove Programs tool that comes with Windowx XP. It easily and completely remove your unwanted programs, even the ones that refuse to uninstall. This tool also cleans the empty / corrupted registry entries that other removed applications had left behind. Perfect Uninstaller forcibly removes hidden applications and spywares from your system.

Delete Temporary Files:

Temporary files get created whenever you run a program or use a web browser to surf Internet. The temporary files (or cache files) created by softwares such as Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop get deleted when you exit from the program. When your software crashes, these temporary files, however, do not get deleted. They remain as junk files. It is difficult to track these files and delete them as they might be sometimes hidden from your eyes. Is there a solution? Yes, CleanUp is the solution.

CleanUp - is a very powerful and free application that removes Temporary Internet files created by your Internet Browsers. More importantly deletes the temporary files created by other programs such Microsft Word, Adobe Photoshop. It is amazing to see how much disk space you gain when you first run the CleanUp tool. When you use CleanUp to remove files, no one or no other program can recover the files back, so the privacy is absolutely guaranteed. It will make your computer faster.

Internet files created by your Internet Browsers. More importantly deletes the temporary files created by other programs such Microsft Word, Adobe Photoshop. It is amazing to see how much disk space you gain when you first run the CleanUp tool. When you use CleanUp to remove files, no one or no other program can recover the files back, so

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