The Laptop Guy Recommends a Good Offense in Advance of the Pending April Fool’s Day Computer Worm

March 27, 2009 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News 

The best security experts in the country are aggressively working to stop the pending release of a worm called Conficker C (Conficker) and prevent damage to millions of computers. The predicted April Fool’s Day release of Conficker is anything but a joke and has prompted Microsoft to post a $250,000 bounty for the malicious program’s author. While security experts devote their energies to stopping the release, Todd Feit, Founder and CEO of The Laptop Guy, a Columbus, Ohio based laptop company, is suggesting three proactive steps that computer users can perform to mitigate the spread of the worm and prevent the loss of data.

The first step is to take measures to save valuable data. “What happens on April 1st is uncertain, but we recommend not taking any chances when it comes to the pictures, music, and data stored on your computer,” explains Todd Feit. Experts believe that the Conficker program can delete data files. “We are aggressively recommending that individuals back up all of their data in advance of April 1st. We realize that this is sometimes easier said than done for users that have large amounts of data, but we believe it is the single most important thing you can do in advance of this predicted outbreak,” suggests Mr. Feit.

The second recommended step in damage control for the Conficker worm is to check and see if you have already been infected. It is believed the program may have already set up residence in up to 10 million personal computers and is lying in wait for the April 1st activation. The Laptop Guy suggests that computer users check to see if they are current on all Windows Updates including the March update. “Conficker has the ability to disable automatic updates and if a system has stopped performing automatic Windows updates, it could already be infected,” explains Mr. Feit. “It may already be too late, however, we still recommend customers update their system and back up their important files.”

The final step is to confirm that your system’s anti-virus software is up to date and is performing automatic updates. “Unfortunately, if a consumer has not been utilizing anti-virus software or keeping up to date, they are at increased risk for Conficker,” according to Feit. “If a user has been exposed due to lapses in anti-virus or Windows Security, unfortunately the only recommendation seems to be to perform the updates, back up your important files and hope for the best.”

Regardless of whether or not the April Fool’s Day release of Conficker becomes a reality, the above steps will improve the security of a user’s computer. Todd Feit states, “Whether it’s Conficker or any virus that is out there or on the horizon, a computer users best defense is a great offense!” For more information and instruction on how to implement the above recommendations, consumers should visit www.LaptopGuy.com.

The Laptop Guy

It began nine years ago with a guy and his dog fixing laptops at a rented counter of a toy store. Today, The Laptop Guy retails, repairs and recycles thousands of laptops from all over the country. The organization may have grown, but its philosophies and values remain the same. To learn more about The Laptop Guy, visit www.LaptopGuy.com

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