Could this be the next Conficker?

FROM: Beau Smith "silly_willy_walnut_head"

TO: Mom

SUBJECT: I'm not typing a subject in this thing

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Hey, Mom,

Earlier this week you asked if there was any kind of virus out there that could be the next Conficker. I'm glad you asked because I found something pretty serious. It's not on the level of Conficker, but Microsoft thinks it's enough to give it a high alert level.

Every Tuesday, Microsoft sends out patches to update the system, and one of them had been causing systems to crash. They researched it, and they found out that it's actually a virus called Alureon that's causing the problem. Alureon is a type of virus that controls a person's system; it's very hard to detect, and many people don't know they have it. It's able to monitor a user's Internet traffic and look for passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information. What's even more alarming is that it doesn't show itself on a system until it causes it to crash.

We're both probably wondering the same thing: why didn't Microsoft detect this before it sent out the patch? From what I've seen, the patch shouldn't cause problems unless the system has the virus. The patch is just a way of discovering the problem. Plus, a virus like Alureon is written to keep itself hidden. When it's installed on a system, it deletes its own installation files, which goes a long way toward covering its tracks.

It's pretty overwhelming to think about all this, but preventing it is pretty straightforward. I definitely recommend buying Norton AntiVirus or Symantec AntiVirus. You can set them to scan all the files on your computer; this makes sure if there's anything in the system. They're good at isolating and removing viruses (including ones like this). One thing is to take extra caution when on the Internet; go to sites and accept emails from people you trust, and install a pop-up blocker on Firefox. Norton has a feature which I love: when you surf the Internet, it detects whether or not sites can be trusted. If a site doesn't look safe, the program gives you a warning screen.

Also, be sure to turn on your firewall and have the system check for updates every day. These keep your computer current and more secure. Plus, since Alureon looks for password data, be sure to change your computer's password and your online passwords. You can make them longer, add in a '$' or '&' character, and scramble letters so that they don't form words or phrases.

Hope that helps! I added the sites I found; they'll show you a lot about what's going on.

Love,

Beau

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1. "Win32/Alureon"
2. "MS10-015 Restart Issues"
3. "Backdoor.Tidserv|Symantec"