Windows Anti-Virus 2009 is bad!

The threat of a malicious Internet worm called Conficker had many people updating their anti-virus software recently.

While the potentially dangerous Conficker worm hasn't caused the damage as predicted, another virus could be causing you more problems.

It's called Windows Antivirus 2009 and it's very tricky. It disguises itself as antivirus software, but it's actually a virus that could do major damage to your PC. It's so tricky in fact, that a couple of people here at the station accidentally clicked on it.

It hides in ads on websites that you may visit, so there's really no way to avoid the bug.
The owner of Computer 21 in Cape Girardeau says a lot of his customers have been tricked by the virus. He says he's seen a lot of computers affected by the virus over the past three months.

"If you're on a website that has that ad, you're going to notice that the screen goes blank in the background," said Andrew Bard, owner of Computer 12. "Little window pops up, says you've been infected with something, click ok to scan now. If you click ok, you're done. Best thing you can do is cut the power."

Sounds scary, so how do you tell the real deal from the virus? If it just pops up on your computer and you didn't click anything, then it's probably the virus. Like Bard said, don't click on anything. Just cut the power.

To help protect against the virus you can download an anti-malware application. Windows provides some Antivirus 2009 removal instructions if you get bitten by the bug.

Conficker Worm - April Fool's Computer Virus

The Conficker worm is squirming its way through the Internet and it could infect your computer! Mass hysteria! Ahhh! Ok, really it's not that big of a deal...at least not so far today.

The malicious Conficker worm was set to update to become more aggressive today, but so far nothing noticeable has happened.

Computers already infected with the worm were to be told to step up their attempts to "phone home" for commands (E.T. anyone?). However, the chief research officer at antivirus company F-Secure says that the only thing that's happened so far with the bug.

Computers running Miscrosoft Windows operating system are suseptible. It could be used to send spam or perform other cybercrimes.

It's believed the virus, discovered in 2008, has infected 10 million computers worldwide. But, most of those are in Asia, Europe and South America, according to an article by PC World.

It mainly affects big companies with networks, but it's a good idea to make sure your computer is updated with the latest antivirus software. Microsoft offers this help.

A good rule of thumb to find out if your PC is infected is to try to visit an antivirus software company like Symantec or Microsoft. If you can't log on, your computer may be infected.