More than three million Windows computers around the world have been hit by a malicious worm, but your computer doesn’t need to become one of this growing number. Just a few simple steps can protect you and save you hours of trouble.

A computer worm is a self-propagating piece of malicious software. Computer worms use networks (like the internet) to send copies of themselves out to other computers on those networks. Since no action is necessary on the part of computer users for a worm to infect their systems, users are often unaware they’ve been infected, and they unwittingly allow the worm to infect other users.

On Friday, the BBC reported that, in this particular case, “the malicious program, known as Conficker, Downadup or Kido was first discovered in October 2008.” Microsoft released a patch specifically to stop this worm from infecting machines, but it remains a problem because many owners of Windows computers have not downloaded and installed this patch.

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I’m always surprised to see how many people around the world still use Internet Explorer as their web browser of choice. I think there are much better browsers available to people, but I guess I can understand why people stick with it. Internet Explorer (or IE, as it’s often referred to) comes pre-installed on the vast majority of computers, and it’s a bit of a hassle to find, download and learn to work with a new browser. But if you are one of those people still using IE, please consider this compelling reason to switch…

Microsoft and IE made the news this week, and not in a good way. Hackers have exposed serious problems with all versions (new and old) of the browser that Microsoft has not yet addressed. The browser has a flaw which can expose your usernames and passwords to others when you visit “infected” websites. From what I’ve read (see below for links), your computer can be attacked as soon as you visit one of these “infected” websites.

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