April 1 Conficker C computer worm There are several news reports circulating regarding the "Conficker C" worm that is set to strike on April 1, 2009. For those who are concerned about their computers there are a few steps you can take right now. First, back up any important data. This is just plain sound advice, regardless of viruses, worms, etc. A hard drive crash can destroy data. Make sure that the Windows Security Center is working and keep up on your windows updates. Check on the status on your firewall and make sure you have a current up-to-date antivirus software program. If you do not know how to do this, then check out http://www.staysafeonline.org for some easy to digest security education. Conficker.C is a pretty nasty piece of malware. But remember, there are thousands of other threats out there as well. If you are taking the right steps to keep your computer secure, then Conficker.C will be no riskier to you than the other threats you have not been getting infected with. If you are interested in more information about this worm check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conficker. Keep in mind that this has been patched by Microsoft since October 2008 and as long as you do your Windows Updates regularly you have little to worry about. - Andrew

Thanks earthlydelights but its fake. Its a hoax. Check out the link below. If you think the link below is a virus too just Google "Merry Christmas Virus". Here is a link that might be useful: Merry Christmas Virus Hoax

for those that it did not happen to here is what happened, I had my hotmail opened in firefox as usual, suddenly it refreshed as it does to get new mail, when it refreshed the first 2 full pages of the inbox were completely filled with windows live alerts with the names of people in my address book or my msn messenger ( not sure which since I have some in both) each entry had that it was their birthday and the birthday was listed as January 1st. I did not open any of the entries, I was on my linux box, I hilighted all of them on page one and deleted them then did the same on page 2.After clearing those I went to my windows live calendar to see if anything there was messed up but it was exactly as it should be. very strange occurrence and hearing it happening to many people is quite strange If anyone spots reports of this or info about why it happened please post and give links or info. I am checking the security forums and not seeing anything much.

This is a true threat but is easily identified. Executable attachments (ending in ".exe") should never be opened from an unknown source without at least scanning it. This shows the danger of using one email address too. Whenever I use a throwaway address and get an email that says there's a problem with my account, I laugh. Vendors do not contact people this way. People really need to educate themselves to the basic dangers. Lately there's been a big downturn in the number of viruses out there because people did get affected enough to start using antivirus programs. Then it turned more to "malware" including spyware and the like. Now however, people have become complacent and forget about the importance of securing a computer. All too many get a new computer and rather than doing the correct thing, that is to secure it, they immediately go online to try it out and tell everyone about the new machine. And they get infected. Now that there's a numbness to the true threat of viruses, people not having, using and/or updating antivirus, firewalls, etc, we can probably expect more to come but at the same time, there'll likely be the hoax problem too, which can be just as bad, if not worse. Think of it this way: When you open email, and for that matter surfing the net to a point, you're having sex with everyone on the internet. Are you going to use protection? You should have a good firewall. Windows is not a good firewall. You should have an antivirus program and update it regularly. You should have an antispyware program and perhaps more than one. It's a good idea to avoid using Internet Explorer as your browser, but if you do you should at least secure it as best you can. Also keep in mind that when you receive emails that are suspicious, it's not difficult to do some checking. Look at the attachments before you open them and never let your computer open them automatically. One of the most dangerous phrases out there is "send this to everyone you know" because people feel a need to do this. I get a little worked up about this because for some reason people feel compelled to do whatever an email says to do. Accordingly, they normally send far more hoaxes than they do factual information. And 2 minutes of basic research would usually show the difference. Operating a computer is much like operating a car. With the right comes responsibility and if you don't show the responsibility you can easily lose your rights. You owe it to yourself, but more importantly, you owe it to others to use the vehicle responsibly, whether the vehicle is a car or computer. People wouldn't be writing the viruses, spyware, etc, if they weren't effective. Taking simple precautions will render them much less effective. Don't be afraid of computers or the internet but be informed enough to protect yourself. Not trying to come off as a lecture, just a precaution. Here's wishing you happy and safe computing.