IT & Technology

Conficker worm grounds French military

It was widely reported today that French military aircraft were grounded after the databases containing their flight plans were infected with the Conficker worm - at one point French naval staff were even told not to switch on their computers. (Telegraph.co.uk).

Not only the French being affected though, the UK Ministry of Defence also reported that some of its major systems were also affected, spreading across admin offices, Royal Navy Warships and Submarines.  It has even infected over 800 Hospital computers in Sheffield! Does anyone else find this somewhat concerning?

Microsoft warned of this worm, releasing notifications and patches as soon as the vulnerability was identified - the patch was released on 15th October 2008 (Microsoft Information Page, Virus Alerts) yet the military seem to have not patched their systems or secured against potential sources of infection!  So, what can YOU do to avoid Conficker (otherwise known as DownUp, DownAdUp or Kido)?

Read more: Conficker worm grounds French military

 

What is a computer worm?

PrintE-mail

Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 November 2009 19:17 Written by Ruth Cheesley Sunday, 01 February 2009 19:19

A computer worm is a computer program which self-replicates using a network or internet connection to send copies of itself to other computers, without any user intevention.  It does not need to attach itself to an existing program - as a virus does - and hence can, and does, cause havok on networks by using massive amounts of bandwidth rather than actually damaging files.

Read more: What is a computer worm?

   

What is a macro virus?

PrintE-mail

Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 November 2009 19:17 Written by Ruth Cheesley Sunday, 01 February 2009 18:57

Most macro viruses are written in languages used by Microsoft Office applications, such as Word and Excel.  These viruses are spread inside infected documents, and could also spread onto Macintosh computers as there are some versions of Microsoft Office for Mac OS.  These viruses don't tend to spread by sending out infected emails, however a small number do.

Read more: What is a macro virus?

   

Page 1 of 3

Recent Work











Log In