The Conficker Precautions that everyone should take

Conficker is a win32 worm that has a specific purpose and can be given instructions from the outside. But as of now, what it is meant to do is unknown. That is because it has the ability to download instructions from the controller and change its objectives. It infects nearly all the common windows versions that people are currently using.

The best Conficker precautions would be to keep your anti-virus updated and to apply all the available patches from Microsoft. The worm uses a vulnerability in the Windows networking structure to infect PCs and spread the infection further through the network.

There are many security companies who have released Conficker repair tools and they are available for free download from their respective sites. Other than releasing an emergency patch for the Conficker worm, Microsoft has also released a detailed step-by-step guide for removing and guarding against the worm.

Conficker precautions devised by Microsoft requires the administrator to create a new group policy that would do the following things: -
•    Preventing randomly named malware from installing itself as a legitimate network service.
•    Prevents the worm from scheduling tasks that would re-infect the PC.
•    Disables the autorun feature so that the worm would not enter the system from infected removable devices.
•    Disables the administrator account so that the worm cannot use the guess or ‘brute force’ attack to get the password.

These involve modifying the registry and some low level work, so they should only be done by someone who is trained or knows what he/she is doing.

Ultimately the best prevention is to be aware of the situation and use all the prevention, detection and removal tools and techniques available to guard against the worm. Safe surfing practices are a must, as are proper anti-virus software that is always running when the system is on.