Tricky Virus Hits 8.9M Computers Worldwide

Program performs well in stress test

(NEWSER) - Want a great, free antivirus program from a big software brand? OK, it’s from Microsoft, and … wait! Come back! Believe it or not, Microsoft’s new Security Essentials software is pretty darn good. AV-Test.org ran it through a bevy of tests and found the freebie performed admirably. In its first outing, it nabbed all 3,700 viruses, Trojans, and worms that testers threw at it. More»

Computer invader may cause trouble tomorrow

(NEWSER) - Millions of PCs have been infected with the Conficker worm, and word has it the program may cause mischief tomorrow—April Fool’s Day. But routing it out needn’t be difficult, the AP reports. Here’s how:

• The worm blocks access to Microsoft and antivirus vendor sites, which offer tools to fight it. Check if you can visit these Web pages—if not, your machine may be infected.

'Dumb little practical joke' led to $38 billion security industry

(NEWSER) - A prankster who wrote the first computer virus 25 years ago says only, “It was some dumb little practical joke.” Yet Richard Skrenta’s desire to infiltrate other Apple II’s with a poem (“It will get on all your disks; it will infiltrate your chips”) marked the beginning of a worldwide virus craze that spawned a $38 billion security industry and 150 to 175 new pieces of malware every day. More»

(NEWSER) - Fear of computer viruses is now one of the major reasons people are getting them in the first place, Reuters reports. According to Microsoft, seven of the 25 top threats come in the form of fake security programs, which users terrified of malware like Conficker are installing indiscriminately. Losing market share to the bugs they try to defend against has flummoxed above-board Internet security firms. More»

27 tech giants have banded together to fight it

(NEWSER) - April Fools’ Day passed without major incident, but the Conficker computer worm is still contacting 500 websites daily from millions of infected computers, reports PC World. A conglomerate of 27 tech heavyweights—including Microsoft, Facebook, and AOL—have managed to limit the peer-to-peer worm’s communicability. But Conficker is still amenable to instructions from its authors, possibly laying low until the publicity wanes. More»