Someone needs to make a Linux and OS X port. Too many people are missing out on the mass panic.

I've sold all my belongings, filled up the tank and am now on my way to the arctic circle.

Hello, Joshua. What game would you like to play?


Thermonuclear War. Duh.

will this stop any of my daily internet activities?
no

Looks like the bunker will come in handy finally.

The joke is on people like us reading these articles at work instead of working.

Your links to the previous posts are broken.

Beyond not being able to go to norton and mcafee's (and others) websites, is there any other telltale that a machine is infected?

What's the point of a worm not doing anything,, just getting updated. Lame.

I believe that means the joke is on our employers.

It would be quite the ironic moment if the new virus turns out to be installing AVG or a hacked version of norton antivirus etc. and patching it up to date.

Granted this is unlikely in the extreme but in my own twisted mind it would be hysterical. A virus that infects PCs...and cleans them up.

It's secretly forcing us to Fold!!!!

Actually many do fix them to prevent competing malware from invading. Once a malware installs itself as a rootkit it no longer has to worry about existing security programs since it has full control. The security programs just become more defense tools the malware can use.

That is... a mystery... i wonder why no one got track to the person responsible yet? A high bounty is offered... This might just be some conspiracy theory but could this be a plot to sell antivirus or make us rely more on security updates and upgrades... the virus afterall is described as only to affect computers with old system...

I was hoping that Conficker would consist of a fullscreen "APRIL FOOLS", but I was disappointed.

looks like they maybe doing dos attack, or even looking for something

i wonder how will these sites will handle several million pcs mindlessly, repeatedly hitting them. it's got to slow them down, cost them. in addition increase overall internet bandwidth utilization.

Sucks if you have Time Warner

I'm not heading for the basement yet. My linux machine will protect me

So the Norton variant Conficker that they cooked up in the labs doesn't allow you to visit the AVG website? And does nothing else harmful besides making sure you are connected to the internet?

What a threat. I'm sure Norton will be here shortly to make sure everyone buys some Antivirus. Wouldn't want to not be able to access norton.com.

I have no fear of this worm and I am on a windows OS. I have no anti-virus installed either. Common sense is all anyone truly needs.

Why do I bet that this is connected to one or both of the US Power Grid hacks that the government has discovered being set up by both the Russians and the Chinese?

Say...at an opportune moment, the viruses in all the infected PC's activates, assaults the banking, public, and government record systems and wipes everything (like personal and business accounts, all public records, medical records, court records, property records, etc.) and then crashes the entire electric grid to make recovery virtually impossible. Bye, Bye, US economy and infrastructure.

Skynet is here. All Your Base Are Belong to Us. At least we have Christian Bale to strike back at them...

watched fight club lately?

wayneepalmer Makes a good point... Who knows he might be right...

Question: If i cant access some anti virus websites I have this "thing"? Is that the only way to tell?

The coder who released the virus isn't good enough, so it virus does nothing and is easily removed by the computer proficient?

I thought so. Its not polling CNN and Ebay for internet connectivity: its polling for data. The virus has been deleting itself from computers, right?

I think this is as follows: the people who coded conficker designed it to be a bug to study reactions to the mass infection. It had a "go" date to give everyone one singular point of anxiety: if it went active the moment it touched the computer, it would be like any other infection. But Conficker C has had a year to build up on millions of computers and EVERYONE has heard of it. It's been sprayed across news sites, blogs, and I've seen machines on ebay and craigslist for sale because "it's infected with Conficker, I don't know how to fix it" and more.

In other words, this is a study in panic and reaction to panic. Nothing more.

this "virus" is stupid... just take some Advil and it'll go away.

I like your argument. I believe it's very possible also. The virus has been generally harmless so far, but yet mass hysteria still occurs. Anything in the name of science right?

Crap, I'm allergic to advil. . .will Tylenol be ok? ? ?

http://www.confickerworkinggroup.org

I don't think it's the only way to tell, but it is a signficant and very easy way to tell. Check that link above, click on "Check for Infection" and see if any of the images are missing.

Congratulations.. You are infected. With several worms than.

Are you aware that worms are created to spread itself without users having to click on something? I guess not.

Anyway, worms can be harmless like this one seems to be.
If people know that they have to use fences on their house because the neighborhood is full of malicious ppl than they also should be properly introduced to the Internet. Viruses and Trojans are user based, Worms aren't. A good anti-virus to protect you from known viruses/trojans/worms and a good firewall to protect you from unknown worms.

Done, you are "safe".. I wish...

Anyway, I think that the "paranoia test" is a valid argument. And Linux/OSX users are feeling a bit left out of the party.

Conficker? What's that? A virus? Geez, it's been a long time since I've seen one... And my antivirus isn't installed, what should I do?

Waaaait... It's Windows-only! Pooh, I'm missing on all the fun!

Shall I install Windows on my machine, instead of a Linux distro? Hunting virii looks like it's fun!