The feared and famous Conficker worm may have been something of a letdown for failing to do anything dramatic on April 1st 2008 but the impact of worms and viruses on businesses has been significant.

According to Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, the number of worm infections in enterprise environments – those running forefront Client Security – doubled from the last half of 2008 through the first half of 2009.  During this period, worms rose from the fifth most commonly encountered threat category to the second!

The most commonly encountered threat category for businesses was Miscellaneous Trojans, which include rogue security software.  Be careful what you click on!!!!!

The report offers a solution that is working for many with Internet Explorer 8.  Because of Microsoft's SmartScreen Filter, which offers phishing and malware protection in Internet Explorer 8, the amount of Miscellaneous Potentially Unwanted Software can be cleaned and reduced.  If you haven’t upgraded to IE8 this may be another good reason to do so this year.

By Ben Worthen

Edited by:  Libby Lucas, Carolina Computer Partners

The pending threat of Conficker is yet another reason that we recommend managed services.  Well maintained Anitvirus software is keeping our customers safe but if you haven't checked your Antivirus or your subscription has expired beware ....

You may have heard about Conficker, the rogue computer program that might do something dreadful on April 1. The truth is that the threat posed by Conficker is almost entirely theoretical, and that only a handful of dedicated professionals will notice anything out of the ordinary when that date comes around.

Conficker is the latest example of a type of malware called a botnet, which gives a cyber criminal control over an infected computer. The criminal can steal information stored on the computer or make it do things like send spam emails. In some cases, criminals amass millions of computers to command.

Researchers estimate that a couple million computers could be infected with Conficker. What sets Conficker apart is that it uses a new form of cryptography, can be controlled by criminals in multiple ways, and updates itself. The bad guys haven’t done anything with the computers they control yet, which means they could do, well, anything.

Conficker periodically seeks new instructions from its master, and the first day of April is the next scheduled update. At that point it could receive instructions to steal information or try to launch some sort of Internet crippling attack. But there’s no evidence that anything like that will happen.

Conficker is grabbing headlines because Microsoft offered a $250,000 bounty to anyone providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for the malicious code. Plus the fact that it hasn’t been used for anything yet gives it an air of mystery – most botnets are used to send emails pushing Viagra. Journalists and tech companies looking for attention are willing to project onto Conficker whatever they think sells. And in the tech security world, that’s too often gloom and doom stories.

It’s certainly better not to have your computer infected with Conficker – and anyone using a computer with up-to-date anti-virus software is reasonably safe.