"Patch" for Conficker? I'm lost...

[am1432]

I use Windows XP, I have no clue where to find the proper patch that I'm reading about, I tried to find it through the Microsoft site but apparently I'm a nimrod because I can't manage to find it =o/

Please bear in mind I'm about as dense as one can be when it comes to this and talk to me like I'm 12 haha =o)

Thanks!
Amanda

[scythe944]

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx

[rosebud945]

Thanks from me, too! I just had to wipe and reload my hard drive two weeks ago because of a virus invasion, and do NOT want to do it again!

Is this patch the best attempt at avoiding this virus or is it a sure thing?

[rosebud945]

I followed that link and did not find the patch. 

I have already downloaded and used the MS one scan, but I cannot find the patch to download.

[am1432]

I'm in the same boat, I can't figure out which link is what I'm supposed to be looking for and I've skimmed it a few times now.

Thanks for the link at least, scythe! =o)
Am

[scythe944]

There is no, "patch" per-say.  Just make sure that your computer is up to date with windows updates, make sure you have anti-virus (avast preferably) and that it's up to date.

Most antivirus software could detect and block the Conficker worm, so if you have updated antivirus software on your computer, you are at a much lower risk of being infected by the Conficker worm.
If you or your network administrator have not installed the latest security updates from Microsoft and your antivirus provider, and if you have file-sharing turned on, the Conficker worm could allow remote code execution. Remote code execution allows an attacker to take control of your computer and use it for malicious purposes.

*UPDATE* apparently there is a "patch", I got this link from another friend in the tech field. I know it doesn't say anything about the conficker virus/worm, but it's apparently the fix.  Anyway, get all of your windows updates (not just this one), you need to have them anyway.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0D5F9B6E-9265-44B9-A376-2067B73D6A03&displaylang=en

[am1432]

Gotcha, thanks bunches, scythe, I thought i had to download an actual patch.

Looking at this now:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx

Should people be downloading any of this or it's only necessary when you actually find out you have infected files somewhere?

[scythe944]

By visiting the windows update service, or by using automatic updates, you will get all relevant updates that are needed by your computer.

If you don't need any updates, then you're pretty much good to go.

If you find that you have the virus, and you need to get rid of it, then you should follow Microsoft's suggestions to remove it:

How do I remove the Conficker worm?
If your computer is infected with the Conficker worm, you may be unable to download certain security products, such as the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool or accessing certain Web sites, such as Microsoft Update. If you can't access those tools, try using the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner.

[am1432]

I get that little yellow shield that does updates, so I think I'm good then.

If not, I'll check back here and have to ask more questions. You're looking forward to a confused dumbass coming back for more, right? haha

Thanks again, scythe! =o)
Am

[scythe944]

You're looking forward to a confused dumbass coming back for more, right?

Lol, sure!  I'm really only here because I'm bored at work, and I could use the entertainment... 

No prob, anytime.

[rosebud945]

Okay, I have a question. I just went through the biggest pain when ATT left me vulnerable on line for hours. My computer filled up with trojans, and some other type of malware, and I had to wipe the hard drive and reformat my OP. The first symptom was corrupt word documents (ie, characters, jibberish) on a flash drive. I ended up losing 2 semesters worth of student and school related docs, but lost very little data otherwise.

I got back up and running, and reformated that flash drive. I bought the pro version of Avast! All was fine until last week when the docs on the flash drive went to mush again. I did a scan on the FD and found malware, but I couldn't find a name. Then I did a system scan and found either one trojan that infected 2-3 files or 2-3 trojans.

The flash drive is in the trash. I did another scan with System Care, and I watched the scan closely. The scan turned up nothing in the end, but as it moved through files on the computer, I kept seeing things like Trojan downloader, worm trojan worm.

What is going on??? Do I have latent viruses, or worse, that conficker???

[scythe944]

The "conficker" thing is just a stupid "doom and gloom" story that is getting WAY outta hand.  Plain and simple, if you update your computer, and run an anti-virus, you're fine.

As for your computer getting viruses and other things from your flash drive, yes it's possible that you still have "a" virus.  There are millions of them out there.

Do yourself a favor, and pull the flash drive out of the trash.  It's just media, it can be cleaned.

Disable your system's "system restore" until we get your computer cleaned up, then enable it afterwards.

Do a boot time scan with Avast.  Let us know if it finds anything.

Download malwarebytes from http://www.malwarebytes.org and do a scan.

Quarantine anything that either of the programs find harmful.

If you're still having problems, download hijackthis http://download.cnet.com/Trend-Micro-HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10227353.html and run a scan, then post the log file here, and we'll take a look at it for ya.

[am1432]

scythe - In that case, may I? haha

Is this worth anything?

http://vil.nai.com/vil/averttools.aspx#002

What about this? I downloaded it but then got scared because it had two things that would install and I didn't know which one to use so I went fetal for a bit then came here.

http://www.bdtools.net/

If you're bored enough, tell me anything else I should know about what to do with this whole Conficker dealy since I'm paranoid enough I'll read just about anything at this point o_O haha

Thanks =o)
Am

[rosebud945]

I did a boot time scan twice after the most recent trojan(s) was found, and it turned up nothing. I didn't turn off the system restore before the virus infected files were deleted, but several system files are in the virus chest. There is no virus listed on any of them. The System Care scan was performed after the last clean Avast boot time scan.

Should I turn off system restore, dump those system files in the chest, download malwarebytes, run it, and see?

[scythe944]

No, if avast didn't find any viruses, then I doubt anything is in the system restore file.

I still suggest downloading malwarebytes and running a scan though.

The System Care scan

That's Microsoft's online scan utility right?

It's good that nothing has come up yet.  For your flash drive, you can try this:
http://experi3nc3.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/flash-disinfector-by-subs/

If you're bored enough, tell me anything else I should know about what to do with this whole Conficker dealy since I'm paranoid enough I'll read just about anything at this point o_O haha

http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/online/
It is:The Secunia Online Software Inspector, or short OSI, is a fast way to scan your PC for the most common programs and vulnerabilities, thus checking if your PC has a minimum security baseline against known patched vulnerabilities.