Podcast: Conficker worm dissected

Millions of computers worldwide have already been infected with the Conficker worm.

So far, it hasn't done any major damage, but it is replicating itself. And on Wednesday, it's apparently programmed to "phone home," possibly getting instructions from some master computer to start causing real problems.

Most experts don't expect anything dramatic on Wednesday, but Windows users are being advised to make sure to apply the latest Microsoft security patch and to be sure they're using up-to-date antivirus software. In this podcast, I discuss the worm with David Perry, education director of Internet security company Trend Micro.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

[ericszyrko]

Is the recommendation for disabling the auto-run a permanent change? Can this be changed back in say 1 week, or 2 weeks, or 2 months?

[3rdalbum]

ericszyrko: Once the worm has died off from the wild, then it will be comparatively safe to turn autorun back on. However, think about it: The worm uses auto-run to install itself, so any other worm could be made to do the same. In fact, before internet-transmittable viruses, ALL viruses used auto-run on disks to spread themselves.

Just turn auto-run off and leave it off, it's not like it does anything important.