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Downadup - Largest Worm Infection Since 2001 Hits Corporate
Networks
A sneaky,
fast-spreading computer worm known as Downadup (or Conficker or Kido) is
exploiting a security hole in Microsoft Windows to infect millions of PCs in
mainly corporate networks. It is considered the largest and most serious
corporate virus outbreak since Nimda unleashed its fury in 2001. It appears
Downadup may have been created to generate income for people who get paid to
install rogue antivirus software called "scareware."
The worm can spread three ways:
- It attacks a vulnerability in the Microsoft Server
service. Computers without the latest Microsoft security patch can be
remotely attacked and taken over.
- It can scan company networks and attempt to guess
passwords.
- It can infect USB data sticks (also known as thumb
drives). While almost all of the Downadup occurrences have involved
corporate networks, it is possible for a home computer to be infected by
the user's corporate PC via the connection of a thumb drive.
Microsoft released a
patch to stop the Downadup worm in October 2008 called MS08-067. To download
this patch, visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx
In January 2009, the high number of Downadup infections led Microsoft to
enable its anti-malware utility, Microsoft Software Removal Tool (MSRT), to
detect the worm. This optional component is updated monthly and can scan for
and remove some of the most prevalent threats in circulation today. For
details, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx
As always, we recommend you use antispam and antivirus software, install a
firewall, and keep operating system and browser software updated.
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Webster-Calhoun Announcements: Bill Insert, Phishing Scam, And
Internet On Vista
Bill Insert
This month's bill insert includes information on the DTV conversion, Do Not
Call registry, low income assistance and Cable TV. If you missed it, check it
out on our website at www.wccta.net, click
on products and services, then scroll down the page to "archives."
You can also take note of some the changes made to the product and services
page. New sections have been added to give you more information about Cable
TV and Fiber to the Home projects.
Phishing Scam
If you recently received an e-mail from "Wccta Net webmail Support
Team", please disregard that e-mail! It seems to be a phishing scam
where they want your access id, password and date of birth. This e-mail was
not sent out by Webster-Calhoun and we
are not shutting down any accounts. We received several e-mail inquiries but
were not able to determine how many of our customers received this e-mail. As
an added precaution WCCTA blocked access to their return address so no one
would inadvertently respond.
High Speed Internet on Vista
Wccta customer: "I bought a new computer for Christmas and I've been
having problems with Vista and Network Connectivity. I've got a DSL modem
that would from time to time just drop connection to the Internet or at least
I thought it was that. So I'd check the modem every time this happens. It
would say I was connected to the network but I could not do anything on the
Internet. What do I do?"
Tech Reply: Relax. Your computer and your DSL modem are fine. In order to fix
this problem you have to make some changes in settings. Here is how I fixed
it: Right Click > Select "Network and Sharing Center" >
"View Status" for your LAN (local area connection)> Properties.
This screen is important. You will have to uncheck the Internet Protocol
Version 6 (TCP/IPv6). If you have both wireless and LAN you will have to do
it for both of them. There must be a problem with IPv6 because after doing
this my system hasn't lost connectivity. You should also reboot your system
to make sure it takes these changes into account. Uncheck it then press 'OK'
and reboot. After that surfing the Internet should be smooth sailing.
Although this is one solution, it is essential to note not all DSL modems are
the same and there can be several reasons why it would be doing that for you.
For me it was the fact that IPv6 isn't fully developed and from what I hear
from others, it won't be available for several years.
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Ask The Help Desk - What Should I Do When My Computer Screen
Freezes Up?
Question: Sometimes when I'm working on my computer,
the screen just freezes up and I'm not sure why. What should I do?
Answer: Some common causes of a screen freeze are:
- Your computer is using up every bit of its RAM
(random access memory) at that point in time
- Running multiple applications simultaneously
- A computer virus
For a Vista PC, restart your computer by simultaneously
pressing the "Control" (ctrl), "Alt" (alt), and
"Delete" (delete) keys. This is called a warm boot. Pressing this
key combination on a Windows Vista PC will bring up a screen containing five
functions to choose from. Scroll down to the "Start Task Manager"
option. When the Windows Task Manager window opens, click on the "Applications"
tab to see what applications are currently running. Highlight the
applications and click on the "End Task" button. If quitting the
frozen application does not unfreeze the screen, you will need to repeat the
process. Close the Windows Task Manager screen and press the
"Control" (ctrl), "Alt" (alt), and "Delete"
(delete) keys again. This time when the screen appears containing the five
functions, look in the lower right corner and you will see a red button that
looks like a "power" key. You can shut down the computer by
pressing it, or if you click on the triangle next to it, you will see a
pop-up menu that lists other options including "Restart,"
"Sleep," "Hibernate," and "Shut Down."
If this fails, perform a cold or hard reboot, which is turning the computer's
power off and then on. To complete this operation, press and hold the
"power" button until the computer shuts off (usually about five
seconds). Wait a minimum of five seconds before turning the computer back on.
For a Windows XP PC, restart your computer by simultaneously pressing
the "Control" (ctrl), "Alt" (alt), and "Delete"
(delete) keys. This will bring up the Windows Task Manager window. Click on
the "Applications" tab to see what applications are currently
running. Highlight the applications and click on the "End Task"
button. If this fails to unfreeze the screen, click on the Shut Down Menu and
select "Restart" to restart the computer. If this fails, you will
need to perform a cold or hard reboot by following the instructions in the
paragraph above.
For a Mac, the first step is to force quit frozen applications by
simultaneously pressing the "option" (alt), "command"
(apple), and "escape" (esc) keys. When the Force Quit Applications
window opens, highlight the applications you want to quit and select the
"Force Quit" button. A pop-up box will appear asking if you want to
force the selected application(s) to quit; click the "Force Quit"
button. If this doesn't work, simultaneously press the "control," "command,"
and "power" keys to restart your computer. Your Mac should start up
automatically after a brief delay. You can also shut down an unresponsive Mac
by holding down the "power" key for a few seconds. Wait a minimum
of five seconds before turning the computer back on.
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Sites Of The Month - Great Sites To Check Out In February
To Refi or Not To Refi?
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc_vml/refi/refi.asp - With
the current economic crisis, you may be wondering what, if anything, you
should be doing differently with your finances. Should you sell stocks? Put
off retirement? Pay down debt? If refinancing your mortgage is a move you're
considering, use the “Should You Refinance Your Mortgage Calculator” on this
site. By entering basic information, you'll find out your new monthly
payment, monthly savings, difference in interest, total cost, and months to
recoup costs.
Sweet Treats
http://www.hersheys.com/valentines/recipes/ - February
is the month we celebrate love with kisses, hugs, gifts … and delightful
desserts. This site features recipes for cookies, pies, and other sweet
treats to treat your sweetheart. There are heart-shaped cakes,
raspberry-laden glazes, festive fruit, and, of course, plenty of chocolate.
Trip Advisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ - Recommendations
from friends always help when traveling. But what if your friends haven't
been where you're going? This website offers millions of reviews from
travelers who have visited a wide selection of destinations worldwide. Get
information on hotels, attractions, and restaurants; get suggestions for your
next trip; or look for bargain travel ideas.
Coming Soon
http://www.film-releases.com/film-release-schedule-2009.php - Winter
is the perfect time for indoor entertainment, and many movies (both big
screen and DVD) will be released in the coming weeks to provide it. This site
lists release dates chronologically, or you can search for the film you've
been dying to see by title, actor, or genre. Click on film titles to get
summaries, cast and director information, and other details. The site also
allows you to download movies to view on your computer, TV, or portable player.
Jam the Scam
http://www.fakechecks.org/about.html - This
site educates visitors about fake check scams that require you to wire money
to the scammer after depositing a bad check into your bank account. The
site's main message: You are responsible for the missing funds! Take the
Fraud Tests to find out if you are susceptible to being a victim of these
scams, watch the Fake Out and victim videos to learn more, and review the
prevention information to find out how to avoid these costly mistakes.
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Short Tutorial - Setting Up AutoComplete In Your Browser
The AutoComplete (or
AutoFill) feature of a browser is designed to streamline the process of Web
searches as well as make it faster and easier to fill out online forms. In
the case of Web searches, this feature provides a drop-down list of
suggestions for websites when you begin typing a URL into the Address bar.
AutoComplete can also automatically complete information such as your name
and address when you begin to enter them on forms for website registration or
online purchases. You can customize the AutoComplete settings on your browser
or turn them off completely by following these steps:
Setting Up AutoComplete When Using ...
- Web Browser: Internet Explorer 7
- Computer Operating System: Windows XP and Windows Vista
1. With Internet Explorer open, click your
cursor arrow on "Tools" in the menu bar. Select "Internet
Options" from the resulting drop-down menu.
2. When the Internet Options window opens,
choose the "Content" tab.
3. Under the "AutoComplete" section,
select the "Settings" button.
4. The AutoComplete Settings window will open.
Select the check boxes for the AutoComplete options you want to use under the
"Use AutoComplete for" section.
5. Click the "OK" button in both
windows to save your changes and close each window.
Setting Up AutoComplete
When Using ...
- Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox 3.0
- Computer Operating System: Windows XP and Windows Vista
1. With Mozilla Firefox open, click your cursor
arrow on "Tools" in the menu bar. Select "Options..."
from the resulting drop-down menu.
2. When the Options window opens, choose the
"Privacy" tab.
3. Under the "History" section, click
on the box next to "Remember what I enter in forms and the search
bar."
4. Click the "OK" button to save your
changes and close the window.
Setting Up
AutoComplete When Using ...
- Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox 3.0
- Computer Operating System: Mac OS 10.4
1. With Mozilla Firefox open, click your cursor
arrow on "Firefox" in the menu bar. Select
"Preferences..." from the resulting drop-down menu.
2. When the Preferences window opens, choose
the "Privacy" tab.
3. Under the "History" section, click
on the box next to "Remember what I enter in forms and the search
bar."
4. To accept and save your changes, click on
the red circle in the upper left corner of the window to close it.
Setting Up
AutoComplete When Using ...
- Web Browser: Safari
- Computer Operating System: Mac OS 10.4
1. With Safari open, click your cursor arrow on
"Safari" in the menu bar. Select "Preferences..." from
the resulting drop-down menu.
2. When the Preferences window opens, choose
the "AutoFill" tab.
3. The AutoFill window will open. Select the
check boxes for the options you want to use in the "AutoFill web
forms:" section.
4. Next to the option that you selected, click
on the "Edit..." button. Here you can view or change your saved
information.
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We hope you found
this newsletter to be informative. It's our way of keeping you posted on the
happenings here. If, however, you'd prefer not to receive these bulletins on
a monthly basis, click here.
Thanks for your business!
Best regards,
WCCTA.net
A product of Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association
Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association
1106 Beek Street, PO Box 475
Gowrie, IA 50543-0475
Phone: 515-352-3151
(We have used our
best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein.
However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability for any
loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or
omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)
©2009 Cornerstone
Publishing Group Inc.
Trademarks: All brand names and product names used in this eNewsletter are
trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
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