Windows PC Worm Set to Activate on April 1st
If you’re using a Windows PC, it would be a very good idea to make sure your anti-virus software is up to date, because the “Conficker” worm is preparing to do … something … on April 1st. This article is skeptical about the danger, but since no one really knows the purpose of this malware you’d be foolish not to make sure you’re protected: April Fool’s Conficker Threat is Likely Hype.
There’s a relatively simple check to see if you’re infected with Conficker: Point your browser towards f-secure.com, secureworks.com, microsoft.com or other security sites. If you get a “page cannot be displayed” error for all the sites, there’s a good chance they’re blocked by Conficker or similar malware on your PC.
If that happens to you, you’d also be blocked from normally downloading free Conficker removal tools. But you can get around the malware blocks by using a Web proxy or alternate download links, according to Stewart. Here are some links: