Scary thing to know that there is a virus out there can affect many people, all Windows XP and Windows Vista take heed because the Things We Talk About is at your service. If you’ve been worried about this virus, now you don’t have to be since Norton symantec has released more information on how it can be fixed. Special thanks to our reader sohail20!

You can go to http://www.symantec.com to get more info or just read the excerpt we’ve provided. 

“Worried about the Conficker worm striking on April 1st? A few simple steps can protect you. Target: All users of Windows XP and Windows Vista. If you’re worried about the Conficker worm striking on April 1st, don’t be. On April 1st the Conficker worm will simply start taking more steps to protect itself. Beginning on April 1st the worm will use a communications system that is more difficult for security researchers to interrupt. What does the Conficker worm do? Who is at risk? What to do if you are infected?

FAQ

Norton Recommends The Conficker worm, sometimes called Downadup or Kido has managed to infect a large number of computers. Specifics are hard to come by, but some researchers estimate that millions of computers have been infected with this threat since January. Current users of Symantec’s Norton security products are protected. Users who lack protection are invited to download a trial version of Norton AntiVirus 2009,Norton Internet Security 2009 or Norton 360 Version 3.0. If you are unable to reach our web site, you may be infected. In that case you will need to get to a computer that is not infected, download our specialized Conficker removal tool and run it on the infected machine before installing new antivirus software. Symantec has a detailed technical analysis of the threat here.

CBS correspondent Leslie Stahl met with Steve Trilling, Symantec’s VP of Security Technology and Response, to talk about the impact of Conficker worm. The video is currently unavailable. Click here to read the transcript. What does the Conficker worm do? The Conficker worm has created secure infrastructure for cybercrime. The worm allows its creators to remotely install software on infected machines. What will that software do? We don’t know. Most likely the worm will be used to create a botnet that will be rented out to criminals who want to send SPAM, steal IDs and direct users to online scams and phishing sites. The Conficker worm mostly spreads across networks. If it finds a vulnerable computer, it turns off the automatic backup service, deletes previous restore points, disables many security services, blocks access to a number of security web sites and opens infected machines to receive additional programs from the malware’s creator.

The worm then tries to spread itself to other computers on the same network. How does the worm infect a computer? The Downadup worm tries to take advantage of a problem with Windows (a vulnerability) called MS08-067 to quietly install itself. Users who automatically receive updates from Microsoft are already protected from this. The worm also tries to spread by copying itself into shared folders on networks and by infecting USB devices such as memory sticks. Who is at risk? Users whose computers are not configured to receive patches and updates from Microsoft and who are not running an up to date antivirus product are most at risk.

Users who do not have a genuine version of Windows from Microsoft are most at risk since pirated system usually cannot get Microsoft updates and patches. What to do if you are infected If you are reading this page, your computer is probably not infected with Conficker as the worm blocks access to most security web sites. If you have a computer that is infected, you will need to use an uninfected computer to download a specialized Conficker removal tool from. The tool is available here. Advice to Stay Safe from the Downadup Worm: Run a good security suite (we are partial to Norton Internet Security 2009 and Norton 360 Version 3.0). Keep your computer updated with the latest patches. If you don’t know how to do this, have someone help you set your system to update itself. Don’t use “free” security scans that pop up on many web sites. All too often these are fake, using scare tactics to try to get you to purchase their “full” service. In many cases these are actually infecting you while they run. There is reason to believe that the creators of the Conficker worm are associated with some of these fake security products. Turn off the “autorun” feature that will automatically run programs found on memory sticks and other USB devices. Be smart with your passwords. This includes Change your passwords periodically Use complex passwords – no simple names or words, use special characters and numbers Using a separate, longer password for each site that has sensitive personal information or access to your bank accounts or credit cards. Use a passwords management system such as Identity Safe (included in Norton Internet Security 2009 and Norton 360 Version 3.0) to track your passwords and to fill out forms automatically. Run Norton Internet Security 2009, Norton AntiVirus 2009 or Norton 360 Version 3.0. You can also try Norton Security Scan. FAQ Q: What should I do if my PC is infected? A: If you have a computer that is infected, you will need to use an uninfected computer to download a specialized Conficker removal tool from.

The tool is available here.

Q: Am I safe if I don’t go to questionable web sites?

A: No. The Conficker worm seeks out computers on the same network. You can be in a coffee shop, an airport or in the office and the worm will quietly try to attach to your computer and run itself.

Q: How do I know if I am infected?

A: The best way to know if you are infected is to run a good antivirus product. One symptom that may indicate you are infected is finding that your computer is blocked from accessing the web sites of most security companies.

Q: Can’t I just run free antivirus software?

A: Yes, but free products often aren’t thorough or comprehensive. Worse, the internet is overflowing with fake free security scanners that actually infect your computer. Fake scanners such as “Antivirus 2008” are difficult to identify and have plagued hundreds of thousands of users around the world. ”

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It wasn’t too long ago that social networking sites have become the new phenomena. So many people have become so intrigued with the idea that now we find so many people trying to create their own version or twists to their original counterparts. They even have applications available that are free and usable if you want to create your own. So many people are finding a way to connect and what easier way to do it then if not on the internet. Everything becomes so much more accessible on the world wide web and is literally at a click of a button. Facebook, Myspace, HI5, Bebo, Twitter are all social networking sites that came from an ingenious idea, and they don’t stop there. These sites are constantly finding ways to change and evolve, although sometimes their users may become upset it never seems to keep them away from going to visit their site. The great thing about these sites is that they welcome their users feedback and try to work from there.

Why are people though so caught up in these sites and just can’t get enough? Many people I should say have a lot of spare time and are always looking for something to do. These sites provide this outlet, it allows them to check out and find out what everyone else is basically up to. They can keep track of their friends, find out who’s in a relationship, who’s broken up, where the person is working, ?when is someone’s birthday, etc. No one really spends time calling people anymore, because the internet and ?these sites makes it so easy. Sometimes, I wonder though if people really have nothing better to do in their spare time and then I remember that I am one of those people (lol).?

xoxo

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Hooray Spring Starts Today!! So have you decided what your doing for your spring break, or if you already had it, let us know what you did, where’d you and how it was!

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Hey you all, just letting you know that facebook has a new home page for all of its members. You can look at real time posts of your friends or you can hide them, whichever you like. It doesn’t seem like much has changed, so we’ll just have to wait and see how people feel about this new change. At least this time they announced that this particular change was coming. Regardless I still prefer facebook over any other, who knows that may someday change…..

If you don’t have an account you should definitely get one…it’s FREE!

xoxo

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Web Design – SEO should they go hand and hand?

I was working one late afternoon when I got a call and the person on the other line wanted to find out about Search Engine Optimization for his website. He told me that his website looks nice but yet he’s not getting any traffic to that site. My first response to that was, it doesn’t really matter how professional or good your website looks, without any substances or factors to bring you traffic, your web site is  worth close to nothing. He went on to tell me that he was asking the web designer about how to optimize his site to get traffic and the web designer could not give him a good enough answer to his questions.

So this got me thinking, is there a big difference between web designing and a SEO? As a web designer is it essential to know SEO? As a web design company do you need to know SEO?

A web designer does not really need to SEO why, because they need to worry about the look and the presence of the website.  It’s not critical to know really SEO optimization to stay in business as a web designer; however, it is crucial to have the knowledge.

As a web design company I would think it would be essential to provide or at least have some options available to your clients for SEO. By understanding and knowing SEO, a web design company will be capable of providing better suited solutions to clients.

Do I think web design and SEO tie into each other, yes I do. And why do I? I’ll tell you, you need SEO to help you drive traffic to a website but the quality of content and the beauty of the site will keep the visitors interested. 

As a web designer I try my best to not focus more on one aspect rather the two. I pay close attention to SEO when designing a website.

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Miami Web Design

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Happy Birthday NATACHA!!!!!! 

May the Lord bless you with many more!!!!!

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