Conficker.D and April 1st

Will the Internet world end on April 1st? This is at least the impression I got from reading the press in the last couple of days. It seems that some story spun off and started to develop a life of its own.

What is really going to happen on April 1st? I quote the blog of our colleagues over at the Microsoft Malware Protection Center:

So what can we expect on April 1, 2009?  Based on the relatively small number of Conficker.D-infected machines, we believe it’s doubtful that we might experience anything out of the ordinary on April 1.  We will however, just as we normally do, take action on anything unusual that might arise from this.  To remain protected, please ensure that your systems are patched with MS08-067, keep your security software signatures updated, and clean any systems you identify that are infected with any variant of Conficker.

As I wrote earlier in my blog: Your focus should be deploy MS08-067 (if you have not done so yet) and clean your systems (if they are infected by Conficker) and, please, do not focus on any “end of the world” theories at the moment.

If you need additional information, please consult our different websites:

• Microsoft Conficker guidance page for IT Professionals and those focused on security in the enterprise: http://www.microsoft.com/conficker.
• Microsoft Conficker guidance page for consumers and home users: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx.
• The Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) encyclopedia page for the Conficker family of malware: http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?name=Win32/Conficker (especially focus on the “Analysis” section).
• The Microsoft Malware Protection Center blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mmpc/.
• The Microsoft Security Response Center Blog: http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/.

Enjoy the weekend

Roger