A Bad April Fool's Day Joke

How bad can an April Fool’s day joke go? When it threats your computer online security, it is very bad. This is what I’ve read at a CNN report about a virus that is set to wreck havoc on April 1. As of the moment a cat and mouse chase is ongoing on net, with experts trying to track down a worm called Conficker C and prevent it from damaging millions of computers on April Fool’s Day.

These computer experts turned bounty hunters are not just after the bounty money offered by Microsoft to the tune of $250,000, but the satisfaction and fulfillment of tracking down of what seems to be the biggest online chase thus far.

Alvin Estevez, CEO of Enigma Software Group, which is one of the many companies trying to crack Conficker said “we love catching bad guys. We’re like former hackers who like to catch other hackers. To us, we get almost a feather in our cap to be able to knock out that worm. We slap each other five when we’re killing those infections.”

Presently, it is thought that the worm have already infected 5 to 10 million computers worldwide. Although it hasn’t manifested any symptoms yet, it is expected that on April 1, a master computer will gaining control of these infected computers and turn them into zombie machines that would follow every order of the master computer. That is how Don DeBolt, director of threat research for CA, a New York-based IT and software company, reports it.

In reality though, nobody can still guess what will happen on April Fool’s day. Lots of theories surfaced – deleting all files on a person’s computer, shut down web sites, monitor a person’s keyboard strokes to collect private information, or a DeBolt said, it may try to get computer users to buy fake software or spend money on other phony products.

Of course, some refer to the April Fool’s day virus as a, well… April Fool’s day joke – a hoax. But DeBolt said, they have already found recently a piece of code in Conficker C that says the worm will become active on April 1. Previous versions of the malicious software launched on specific dates noted in the program code, so the April Fool’s day launch date is not likely to be a trick, he said.

“The best minds in the industry are working on this to protect customers,” he said. “We’re trying to reduce the impact of the April 1 date as best we can. But we know … this malware will continue to evolve.”