Get Rid Of The Worm

The Code Red worm is a pesky problem with a simple cure.

The virus, which attacks Internet operations, is believed to have infested at least a quarter million machines. But only certain machines using a particular application are vulnerable — meaning your computer might be immune. And even if your machine is at risk, there is a simple way to inoculate it.

Only servers running on Windows 2000 or Windows NT are affected by the Code Red worm. How do you find out what version of Windows you are running? There are two ways. If you click on the Start button on your desktop, the dialog box that appears will bear the Windows version running along its left side. Or, you can right-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop, and go to Properties. This will list the Windows version as well.

If you are not running Windows 2000 or Windows NT, you've nothing to worry about.

If you are running either affected Windows version, you need to find out if your system runs IIS version 4 or 5. IIS is an application automatically installed on some machines. The way to find out if you have this program, according to Digital Island, is to launch the Task Manager. Hit the Control, Alt and Delete buttons simultaneously and click on Task Manager. Go to Processes Tab and see if there's something called Inetinfo.exe in the image name column. If it's there, you have IIS. If not, your computer is not at risk.

If you have Windows 2000 or Windows NT and you run IIS, you must install a patch.

First, you have to create a folder. Open Windows Explorer. Go to File, then New, and click on Folder. Call this folder "Patches" and place it wherever you will be able to find it.

Now, get the patch. Do this by downloading the right patch and saving it in the new folder you just created. If you have Windows NT, go to http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.asp?ReleaseID=30833. If you have Windows 2000, go to this site: http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.asp?ReleaseID=30800. Once at the site, click on Next, then hit Download Now. Click on Save this program to disk and hit OK.

Now the patch is in your folder, and you need to find it and run it. Open the new folder you created. The Windows NT patch will appear as Q300972i.exe, while the Windows 2000 patch will be called q300972_w2k_sp3_x86_en.exe.

Once you find it, double-click on the patch program. The patch will run, installing the "vaccine" against the Code Red Worm. A box will pop up telling you it is finished.

Then, simply reboot your computer.

By JARRETT MURPHY
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