Conficker C is considered the April Fool's Day virus. You may have heard about it online, on the news or at the water cooler. For weeks, Microsoft-based security experts have been tirelessly trying to hunt down the culprit for the Conficker C virus set to launch on April 1, 2009. However, the worm has been floating around the Internet for awhile now and has already infected computers in other variations.

The April Fool's Day virus has infected an estimated five to ten million computer users. While most anti-virus companies have introduced a patch to eliminate and protect users from the Conficker C virus, it may be running in the background of your computer without you even realizing it. A worm works its way through a computer's file system and systematically begins deleting files and folders. Eventually, when it finds the right combination of files, folders and commands, a worm can also act as a keystroke logger to steal personal information or shut down a computer system completely.

The first strain of the Conficker woman was released in late 2008. It utilized over 250 web sites to communicate between host computers and infected computers to gather personal data that was used to purchase fake anti-virus titles. Most of this took place without users even realizing it. Microsoft's team of experts, dubbed the Conficker Cabal, are looking at culprits in Eastern Europe. Over the last year, many different forms of worms, Trojans and other data intrusive viruses have popped up from those locations where laws governing the spread of malicious software and bugs is lax.

In order to protect yourself from the April Fool's Day virus, ensure you are running anti-virus software at all times on your computer. Make sure that automatic updates are turned on, and if not, check for updates every single day. Only by being vigilant about your computer's safety this way can you protect yourself from the Conficker C worm.