If you have fastidiously been avoiding IE8 for one reason or another, it's time to listen up. You will be upgraded by automatic updates...at least if you run XP or newer.

I'm kind of torn on this. If this were the process all for newer versions of Windows software, perhaps the malware/virus situation would be far better than it currently is. Changing things this late in the game, however, could cause some issues. I know of some applications still in production environments that are still only compatible with IE6/7, and they will need to be updated prior to this roll-out.

Overall this should be a good change and a worthwhile upgrade. IE8 should be quite a bit more secure than 6 or 7. Once users get used to this type of upgrade path, development for the latest and greatest platforms could be quite a bit easier. No more specific code for out of date browsers!

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April fools day came and went with no real activity, but now it looks like things are beginning to roll. The p2p capability of the worm was activated and some new capabilities have apparently been downloaded by at least some clients. One thing has become clear: the motivation behind the worm appears to be money.

Interestingly enough, apparently a fake antivirus application could be downloaded and installed to infected machines. More information can be found at the trendmicro blog (look toward the bottom of the post). From the screenshot, the fake app looks pretty realistic...and offers to clean up your PC for the modest price of $49.95.

To test if you have the worm and for removal instructions, see my post from April 3.

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This has to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen: Linux running inside of Windows. This evidently fits on a USB thumb drive and can access Windows files directly. Apt-get even works! I'll be giving this a try once I have access to a Windows box again (Monday) at work.

The main thing that would hold me back would be typos on the (tiny) site for the application. I guess I'm making a pretty big assumption in believing that this will work just fine. How else can we find new software besides being trusting?

More info over at Lifehacker...I guess that can ease my mind if nothing else. I'll be waiting with baited breath for a Linux Mint version.

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To see if you have the Conflicker worm, follow this link to the eye chart by the conflicker working group: http://www.confickerworkinggroup.org/infection_test/cfeyechart.html.

You'll know immediately if you are infected. If you DO have the worm, shame on you for not letting Windows update itself properly. Nothing of note has happened thus far, but who knows what will be going on in the future if you do not remove it. Instructions for removal are at the bottom of this page.

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