How Do I Apply the Conficker Patch?

On 21st November, 2008, a new virus was detected on the Internet by the name of the Conficker Worm.

This new virus is designed to attack the Windows OS, and more specifically, it is designed to disable your malware protection software.

Fortunately for us, Microsoft came up with a patch that will protect your PC from the virus.

You might be asking yourself, ‘how do I apply the Conficker patch?’

Below we will explain how to do so.

Patch Release

Microsoft released an out-of-band patch to defend against the Conficker worm on 15th October, 2008.

However, the patch only applies to Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2 & 3 and Windows Vista.

Automatic Update

If you followed the recommended settings on your Windows OS, then you should be safe from the Conficker worm, as your computer should have already received and installed the patch automatically.

Manual Update

Since the Conficker worm has gained some notoriety, links to the Microsoft site have been springing up everywhere.

Just make sure to look at the address bar to verify that you are receiving the patch from Microsoft’s Website.

Or you can simply go to the Microsoft site by entering this URL: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx.

Simply click on the operating system you are using and follow the instructions on the site.

Third Party

There are various third party malware protection software developers that have come up with a patch of their own.

The major benefit in using a third party is that you can buy a CD-ROM of the software if the Conficker worm is preventing you from accessing malware protection Websites.