Thanks for sharing but just to add, this doesn't mean everyone should panic, just be more diligent. Take it from a professional, if you have a good security solution, its updated regularly and automatically and you practice responsible behavior, you are fine and the chances you will get hit is very low. But if you do get hit, then you were warned 
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for sharing but just to add, this doesn't mean everyone should panic, just be more diligent. Take it from a professional, if you have a good security solution, its updated regularly and automatically and you practice responsible behavior, you are fine and the chances you will get hit is very low. But if you do get hit, then you were warned
Microsoft issued a patch for the hole used by the conficker worm last Fall, so anybody who keeps reasonably current with updates should be OK. Microsoft has offered a reward of $250K for anybody providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever created it:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/feb09/02-12ConfickerPR.mspx
Absolutely, and thank you for that. I was trying to convey that too but there is always chances of someone who hasn't patched and gets hit. Remember the Port 135 (netbios) problem? It was patched before 95b but there are some who didn't have it patched for years and port scanners and port nukes still crashed a some people. It happens. But as both of us have said, as long as you keep it updated and have a decent setup, you are fine. 
Now, wanna go hunt for this guy so we can split the payday? 
Guardian wrote:
Absolutely, and thank you for that. I was trying to convey that too but there is always chances of someone who hasn't patched and gets hit. Remember the Port 135 (netbios) problem? It was patched before 95b but there are some who didn't have it patched for years and port scanners and port nukes still crashed a some people. It happens. But as both of us have said, as long as you keep it updated and have a decent setup, you are fine.
Now, wanna go hunt for this guy so we can split the payday?
*ponders this post, and goes off to find Martian --> English dictionary*
Funny wisebutt, I know things *cue evil grin*, I have people *cue evil horns*, and I have been on BOTH sides of this, let's leave it at that *cue evil laugh*
So if you find your martian, will you come help us go hunting? I'll bring the matching glow sticks.
@Anonymous wrote:Absolutely, and thank you for that. I was trying to convey that too but there is always chances of someone who hasn't patched and gets hit. Remember the Port 135 (netbios) problem? It was patched before 95b but there are some who didn't have it patched for years and port scanners and port nukes still crashed a some people. It happens. But as both of us have said, as long as you keep it updated and have a decent setup, you are fine.
Now, wanna go hunt for this guy so we can split the payday?
Oh, I remember Code Red and friends all too well, for a couple of weeks back then all our IT people including Directors were running around with floppies running McAfee Avert Stinger cleaning out people's computers because at the time we relied on our firewall to protect us. Of course that was when we all had desktop boxen so they never left our network; I had more than once suggested we put Antivirus and Firewall software on every box just in case something got through. After this incident, IT changed their tune and put security software on every computer in the company, and of course nowadays most of us have laptops so we have all kinds of security stuff including whole-disk-encryption.
PS: I'm old enough that I even remember Fortran, punch cards, and the Morris Worm of 1988.
@MattH wrote:Oh, I remember Code Red and friends all too well, for a couple of weeks back then all our IT people including Directors were running around with floppies running McAfee Avert Stinger cleaning out people's computers because at the time we relied on our firewall to protect us. Of course that was when we all had desktop boxen so they never left our network; I had more than once suggested we put Antivirus and Firewall software on every box just in case something got through. After this incident, IT changed their tune and put security software on every computer in the company, and of course nowadays most of us have laptops so we have all kinds of security stuff including whole-disk-encryption.
PS: I'm old enough that I even remember Fortran, punch cards, and the Morris Worm of 1988.
Yeah I remember those days too, does that mean I am old, or just old enough 
Remember one of the first viruses that threw people for a loop, Michaelangelo? went off on his birthday and would "melt" your screen, all it did was just oilify your screen image, a reboot would fix it but it would happen every year if you didn't remove it, those were fun days. Pre-IDE, No HD, 5.25 drives, Wordperfect, Wordstar, Firstchoice, dbase, Lotus123, xtree, DOS, oh god, I miss DOS (not really I still use it ) and 2 MB ram using all four memory bays, xoom 2400 modems and 25 Mhz processors running hot at 66, boy those were the days. Oh I forgot the monochrome monitors in amber, green, and white, and comador 64 and PONG.
I practically grew up with the technology changing from its original form until now, so I have seen so much that people don't believe sometimes when I tell them. Now punch cards were just slightly before my time but I played with them a little "learning the basics". My first hand me down was a commodore 64, and the unit we used at school was Atari 800 keyboard with the cartridges connected to a regular tv with dos 3, my first personal computer was top of the line and it had the following: 25 mhz processor/turbo button to 66, xoom 2400 baud modem with fax OOH la la, 25 mb hard drive (pre-ide), 2 mb ram, 5.25 drive, 3.5 drive, ISA slots (no agp, no pci, no usb, no nothing), parallel and serial ports, ps2, 14 inch CRT, 256 color monitor (ooh la la) and this was the top of the line in 1989 or there about, I forget and it was $1500. Anyway, good times. Oh yeah, forgot to mention the Fortis dot matrix (high res) which only meant it would be twice as loud, twice as slow and slightly darker wow those reports looked so nice and tidy and let's not forget the Apple IIe at the library, wow that was high tech stuff.
wow those reports looked so nice and tidy and let's not forget the Apple IIe at the library, wow that was high tech stuff.