EDIT 4/1/2009:

Conficker Working Group is a “cabal” of security industry companies who came together to battle the Conficker pest.

The Conficker Working Group has an excellent list of free Conficker detect and removal tools: Find it here.

EDIT 3/31/2009:

Great piece from Channel Insider about all the crazy hype of the Conficker worm:

… if you believe the hype [it will ] destroy the Internet as we know it.

Well, at least that’s what the hype machine would have you believe. Security vendors and their PR firms have gone into overdrive, using Conficker as opportunity to hock their wares and services. The level of static and hyperbole has been so high that one vendor, Symantec, even went as far as to state that Web surfers looking for information on Conficker could expose themselves to infection.

Couldn’t agree more! But still it shouldn’t be ignored.

Here are some good apps to check and clean for Conficker or other malware/trojans like it. Simple to run and worth checking out.

F-Secure (download a small app and run from your computer)

BitDefender (Can run pretty slow, needs a browser extension)
______________________________________________________

Post from 3/30/3009:

Conficker is a nasty little worm that is going to ‘go live’ on Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

Starting April 1, a PC/workstation infected with Conficker will ‘ask for instructions’ for what to do next.

Experts have differing ideas of the real threat here, but the big thing is to have good, and up to date, anti-virus (and anti-malware) software.

Conficker is built to take advantage of simple passwords; strong passwords will keep the threat of Conficker down. Also, Microsoft put out a patch to fix the major vulnerability for Conficker quite a while ago. Have that installed, and make sure you have a strong password, and you should be in good shape.

Links:

eWeek had this to say, which is echoed by my comments above:

Given that Microsoft issued a patch for the flaw targeted by the Conficker worm and the use of strong passwords can prevent much of the spread, it seems odd that enterprises would be hurt by the worm. But sometimes enterprise security isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Find the eWeek article here.

There is an excellent description of Conficker and what it does, from WWJ in Detroit (it is an AP report) – find it here.

CNet has a great FAQ on Conficker here

CBS’s 60 Minutes had a segment on March 29. See it here

PC Magazine has a good ’7 Most Important Things to Know About Conficker’ article here.

PC World has good info here, about how to easily fix/disable the Conficker worm.

About two years ago, I posted a piece about strong passwords. Find that here.