Deadly PC virus to strike on April 01st 2009

"The Conficker worm will be active again on 1 April, according to an analysis of its most recent variant, Conficker.C, by the net security firm CA.
This malicious piece of software, also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, spreads among computers running most variants of the Windows operating system and turns them into nodes on a multi-million member "botnet" of zombie computers that can be controlled remotely by the worm's as yet unidentified authors.

Since it first appeared in October 2008 it has apparently infected more than 15 million computers around the internet, though even that number is no more than an educated guess because the worm works very hard to disguise its presence on a PC.

The worm turns

Conficker spreads through a security vulnerability in the Windows Server Service that allows a carefully written program to persuade the attacked computer to run malicious code instead of the Microsoft-written software.

Once installed it turns off Windows Automatic Update and stops you using the Windows Security Centre. It disables a range of internal services that could be used by anti-malware programs, blocks access to a number of anti-virus websites and even resets and deletes system restore points so you can't go back to an uninfected installation of your operating system.

And at some point it connects to a remote site to download additional malware and register itself as part of the botnet. The analysis of the latest version indicates that this will next happen on April 1st, and the day maybe a bad one because the way it does this has changed in the latest version of the worm, making it significantly harder to stop.
Previous Conficker infections were controlled to some extent because security researchers were able to determine which servers the worm was going to try to contact and block access to them before it did so. But the C variant has a much larger pool of potential domains to choose from, as it selects 500 target servers from a pool of 50,000 while previous versions chose 32 from 250.

As a result the ad hoc group of security researchers who have been working to limit the botnet's use, the Conficker Cabal, will have a much harder time ensuring that infected systems do not make the connection to the remote service that may allow them to be used to send spam e-mail, log user keystrokes or launch denial of service attacks on other computers.

We will have to wait until April to see how effective efforts at controlling Conficker are, but the analysis that has been done to date shows that it is a particularly well-designed program, one that will be hard to beat.

Courtesy/Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7946574.stm


Freinds , Collegues let's updates and patch our Windows Servers , systems ,pcs, etc............
Kindly Update all your systems with Microsoft Patches & updates...........
Critical Security update from Microsoft available kindly update it ASAP..........

More Info from Microsoft:-
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-067.mspx

EARTH HOUR 2009

VOTE EARTH
YOUR LIGHT SWITCH IS YOUR VOTE

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.
For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF is urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights.

In 2009, India joins Earth Hour for the first time. New Delhi and Mumbai are among 825 cities across 80 countries and territories that have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009. This number is growing everyday.

Noted film actor and icon Mr Aamir Khan will be leading the campaign in India. Many companies such as HP, HSBC and Wipro are also supporting the campaign. WWF-India Secretary General and CEO Ravi Singh says: “Earth Hour is a step in the world's efforts to combat the threat of Climate Change and it holds tremendous potential to influence sound policy and people's participation on the issue. Earth Hour is an unprecedented communication initiative to make people understand what they must”.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet.

People from 825 cities across 80 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.



We as a Human Being lets join this "Earth Hour 2009"..............VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour on Saturday, March 28, 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time.

For more updates on it.............log on to ....

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