Conficker

[tw]

Originally Posted by DanaC

One of the little bastards managed to redirect my virus update and has basically taken control of avg :P various other updates (like windows update) have started acting awfully strange.

Windows update comes two ways. Automatically every Tuesday. Or via WindowsUpdate.com Well, WindowsUpdate.com should detect and offer to download Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal tool every second Tuesday of the month. If it does not happen for you, then Windows Update may have been attacked and compromised.

Another excellent tool to detect a compromised system is Belarc Advisor from Belarc.com. It will list any Windows Update that has not been downloaded to your machine. Again, a symptom that those essential Windows updates have been compromised or hindered.

In the case of McAfee, first available is the McAfee Virtual Technician that detect compromises and sometimes fix the problem. If not, you must download a fresh copy of McAfee from their web site.

I am told (but have not confirmed) that a Conflicker contaminated machine will not log onto microsoft.com, Symantec.com, or Mcafee.com.