TORONTO STAR  REPORTER
Iran’s ruling theocracy faces its biggest challenge since coming to power three decades ago, as massive protests against alleged vote-rigging spark escalating violence.

The stakes for more confrontations were raised yesterday when pro-government militias opened fire on some of the hundreds of thousands who clogged the streets of the capital shouting, “Death to the dictator.”

Iranian state radio said seven people were killed today in clashes near the site of a rally in Tehran.

Their protest against the election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marks the greatest threat to the country’s Shiite religious establishment since the Islamic revolution in 1979. Ahmadinejad, arriving in Russia today to attend a regional security summit, was welcomed as the new Iranian president.

Defying a government ban on protests, demonstrators jammed Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran to hear reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi vow to continue fighting until the election results are cancelled.

“I am ready to pay any price,” he said through loudspeakers. “People feel their wisdom has been insulted.”

Mousavi called on supporters to “stop this lie and stand up to fraud and this astonishing charade.”

The crowd roared back: “Long live Mousavi.”

The protests have reportedly spread to cities outside Tehran, including some traditionally seen as more conservative than the capital.

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(CNN) — The death toll from the suspected attack on the Dutch royal family has continued to rise as more details emerged about the man who slammed his car into a crowd during a holiday parade.
A car is pictured after crashing into the crowd waiting for the visit of the royal family in Apeldoorn.

A car is pictured after crashing into the crowd waiting for the visit of the royal family in Apeldoorn.
more photos »

The Dutch defence ministry announced late Friday that a military policeman, 55-year-old Roel Nijenhuis, had died in hospital — bringing the death toll to seven, including the suspected attacker. Twelve people were also injured in the attack.

The driver, who has not been officially identified, died in hospital in the early hours of Friday from head injuries, as it was revealed that he had lost his job as a security guard and was about to lose his home.

“Recently, he informed me that he had been dismissed and could no longer pay the rent,” landlord Sem Bosman told De Telegraaf newspaper. “He was due to have come today to transfer the keys to a new tenant.”

The 38-year-old was described by his former landlord and neighbours as quiet, solitary, friendly, soft-spoken and a “dark horse,” according to AFP news agency.

The man, whose name was not released, had been seriously injured in the crash Thursday in the town of Apeldoorn, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) east of Amsterdam, police said. He had been charged with trying to attack the royal family, authorities said. Were you there? Send us your video, images

Police searched the man’s house but found no weapons, explosives, “or any other clues that could lead to the involvement of other people,” police said.

Crowds had lined the streets to see Queen Beatrix and her family ride by in an open-top bus during the Netherlands’ annual holiday of Queen’s Day. Photo

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The Obama phenomenon is a hoax carefully crafted by the captains of the New World Order. He is being pushed as savior in an attempt to con the American people into accepting global slavery.

We have reached a critical juncture in the New World Order’s plans. It’s not about Left or Right: it’s about a One World Government. The international banks plan to loot the people of the United States and turn them into slaves on a Global Plantation.

(CNN) — Remember the dire predictions surrounding the “millennium bug?” The doom-and-gloom scenarios bandied about by security analysts on how computers could act when their clocks turned to January 1, 2000?

Computer users will not know that Conficker.c has infected their machine.

Well, researchers are hoping that a potential April Fool’s time bomb — the Conficker.c that is supposed to hit computers on April 1 — turns out to be equally unfounded.

But realizing that hope alone is not a prudent option, here is a primer on the worm so you can adequately prepare yourself — and your computer.

What is Conficker.c and what do analysts fear it may do?

Conficker.c is a worm, a malicious program thought to have already infected between 5 million and 10 million computers.

Those infections haven’t spawned many symptoms, but on April 1 a master computer is scheduled to gain control of these zombie machines, said Don DeBolt, director of threat research for CA, a New York-based IT and software company.

What happens on April Fool’s Day is anyone’s guess.

The program could delete all of the files on a person’s computer, use zombie PCs — those controlled by a master — to overwhelm and shut down Web sites or monitor a person’s keyboard strokes to collect private information like passwords or bank account information, experts said.

More likely, though, said DeBolt, the virus may try to get computer users to buy fake software or spend money on other phony products.

Experts said computer hackers largely have moved away from showboating and causing random trouble. They now usually try to make money off their viral programs. Watch more on the worm »

How does the Conficker.c work?

Conficker.c imbeds itself deep in the computer where it is difficult to track. The program, for instance, stops Windows from conducting automatic updates that could prevent it from causing damage.

The program’s code is also written to evolve over time and its author appears to be making updates to thwart attempts to neuter the worm.

Who wrote the program?

It’s unclear who wrote the program, but anti-work researchers — a group calling itself the Conficker Cabal — are looking for clues.

First, they know that some recent programs have come from Eastern European countries outside the jurisdiction of the European Union, said Patrick Morganelli, senior vice president of technology for Enigma Software.

Worm program authors often hide in those countries to stay out of sight from law enforcement, he said.

In a way, the Conficker Cabal is also looking for the program author’s fingerprints. DeBolt said security researchers are looking through old programs to see if their programming styles are similar to that of Conficker C.

The prospects for catching the program’s author are not good, Morganelli said. “Unless they open their mouth, they’ll never be found,” he said.

So, the most effective counter-assault simply may be damage control.

How can I tell if my computer’s infected?

One quick way to see if your computer has been infected is to see if you have gotten automatic updates from Windows in March. If so, your computer likely is fine, DeBolt said.

Microsoft released a statement saying the company “is actively working with the industry to mitigate the spread of the worm.”

Users who haven’t gotten the latest Windows updates should go to http://safety.live.com if they fear they’re infected, the company’s statement says.

People who use other antivirus software should check to make sure they’ve received the latest updates, which also could have been disabled by Conficker.c.

How did the worm evolve?

The first version of Conficker — strain A — was released in late 2008. That version used 250 Web addresses — generated daily by the system — as the means of communication between the master computer and its zombies.

The end goal of the first line was to sell computer users fake antivirus software, said Morganelli.

Computer security experts largely patched that problem by working with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to disable or buy the problematic URLs, he said.

A second variant, Conficker.b, was released in January and infected millions more machines.

The Conficker, strain C, will generate 50,000 URLs per day instead of just 250 when it becomes active, DeBolt said.

What is being done to fight Conficker?

Members are searching for the malicious software program’s author and for ways to do damage control if he or she can’t be stopped.

They’re motivated in part by a $250,000 bounty from Microsoft.

Toronto’s ‘City News’ is also reporting.

Conficker Virus Set To Hit Millions Of Computers On Wednesday. Should You Be Worried?

Tuesday March 31, 2009

CityNews.ca Staff

Is it real or is it an elaborate worldwide April Fool’s Day hoax?

That’s what computer users and experts around the planet are pondering on Tuesday and they’ll know in less than 24 hours if the Conflicker virus lives up to its hype.

In case you haven’t heard about this latest worm making the rounds in the PC world, it’s a program which some believe could have the ability to infect as many as 15 million computers around the planet - or none, depending on who you’re listening to.

The virus is supposedly set to go off on April 1st - the day for fools - but no one seems to know exactly what its purpose might be.

Reports have warned it could allow hackers to get access to personal files, turn your machine into a spam zombie, uncontrollably sending out thousands of ads to others, or be used as part of a ‘denial of service’ attack on a big site. Those occur when thousands or even millions of computers try to reach the same site at the same time, knocking it offline.

Many seem to believe it exists and that it will have some at least some effect. Others aren’t so sure.

So what is the Conflicker virus and how do you get it? It first surfaced in November, taking advantage of a hole in Microsoft’s Windows operating system. It can be acquired by downloading it in a program and unless - or if - it strikes, chances are you won’t even know it’s there unless you’re looking for it.

A lot of high profile places appear to have fallen victim to it. The BBC reports it’s been found in computers at the British House of Commons and in defence forces PCs in Britain, Germany and France.

Analysts who’ve taken it apart say it’s timed to go off on April 1st but they haven’t been able to say exactly what it will do or who created it. Some have noted the day of its supposed detonation, and are openly calling it a hoax.

It’s believed whatever happens is related to money and several experts contend you may not see anything at all, with the programmers of the virus preferring to let it work in the background and allowing unsuspecting PCs to carry out its mysterious job, which appears to be making its creators some illicit cash.

But how they’ll do that and by what nefarious means remains unknown.

So what can you do? Experts suggest updating your virus protection and running a scan to see if it can be detected on your machine. Also update your version of Windows to get the latest protection.

Beware of what you download and use only trusted sites.

Change your passwords. The virus seems to have a cracking programming designed to decipher your secret entry codes. Making them harder to guess could keep the effects at bay. The best passwords use a random combination of numbers and letters, both upper and lowercase, and should be more than six figures long. They’re harder to remember but also harder to duplicate.

Watch out what you plug into your computer. The virus can easily be lurking on someone’s USB key.

Microsoft has issued a patch to address the original vulnerability and ensure those without it don’t catch it now. You can find out more about it here. If you do get the worm, the PC giant has a removal tool here. Other services are providing a free tool here.

And if it’s a joke? Well, at this point, no one is willing to take that chance - and very few Windows users are laughing, including Microsoft, which has put up a $250,000 reward to catch its creators.