One of the biggest computer worms in recent history, called “Conficker,” appears set to strike on April 1, 2009. No one knows exactly what this worm will do, but you can be sure it won’t be good. If you’re running any Windows operating system (including Mac users who have Windows installed), you could be at risk.

To be sure that your computer won’t be one of the millions affected, please take a few minutes this weekend to protect your computer. First, visit Microsoft’s update page at http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/ to make sure that you have the latest version of your operating system and any patches that are available. (Microsoft has released a patch for all the current versions of its operating systems to combat Conficker.)

Second, disable Auto-Run / Auto-Play on your computer. The How-to Geek has simple instructions in this article.

And third, use your anti-virus software. Download any available updates to your anti-virus software, and then allow it to scan for and remove any worms, viruses or other malicious software on your computer. If you don’t have anti-virus software, please get some! There are many out there, and some are even free, including AVG.

To learn more about Conficker and what you can do to avoid it, please check out Wikipedia’s page on Conficker, the Conficker Information site or some of the many articles on Conficker that have been published in the news lately.

Good luck, stay safe and, as always, thanks for reading my blog!

Copyright © 2009, Kathy Keating and TechKathy.com. All rights reserved.