To date, 12 million Windows systems have been infected with one incarnation of the Conficker worm or another. On April 1st, Conficker is scheduled to update itself with unknown, but malevolent, software that will almost certainly make it harder to track, treat and stop in its tracks.

The Conficker worm is a piece of malware that managed to infect PCs in droves. Part of the reason it is such an effective worm rests in the fact that it can disable Windows security features once it is embedded in a system. As of yet, no one is quite sure of exactly what Conficker is going to do. Compromised systems give the worm's creators access to valuable personal information like credit card numbers, sensitive personal information and passwords.

More likely however, Conficker.C (as the post-April 1st version will be known) is going to link computers together to form a botnet. A computer forcefully inducted into a botnet will link up with other compromised "zombie" computers that communicate with each other and the network's nefarious master. A botnet is often used to distribute spam or to gather and store various valuable, and often times, illegal, information.

Computer professionals everywhere are banding together to stop the Conficker worm. There is some cause for optimism as researchers have found a means of tracking the worm's distribution pattern and identifying infected machines.
Despite the efforts of the IT community, April Fool's Day is getting dangerously close and the Conficker worm is still proliferating and readying itself for instructions from its creator(s).

For the meantime, small businesses and individuals are advised to back up their data, ensure that they have up-to-date anti-virus software and the latest Windows updates from Microsoft.

In the market for effective counter measures to Conficker? Take a look at our top ten anti-virus software products and data backup programs for in-depth information and comprehensive feature listings of each.

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