April Fools Virus Could Cause Problems

SPOKANE — A computer virus is striking computers around the world, and it may not be an easy problem to fix.

It’s called the April Fools virus because it was programmed to hit on April 1st.

Computer experts think that one out of every 16 computers that uses Microsoft Windows already has this virus on it.

“We’re not sure what it’s going to do, but something,” said computer expert Johnny 5.

Johnny 5 is KXLY4’s Gadget Guy and computer expert, and he has been monitoring the April Fools’ virus for some time.

“If you have Windows updates on and running you’re probably okay, but this does affect everything from Windows 95 to XP. That’s pretty much every Windows operating system out there,” Johnny 5 said.

He says your computer may have the April Fools virus and you might not even know it. 

To find out, check if your automatic update function has been shut off without your consent. Also, try to go to a security software website like Symantec and if you are blocked, then there is a good chance your computer is infected.

If you have the virus, we have given you two links to visit in the news links section of the KXLY website.

If you go to the Symantec site, click on the download removal tool, allow it to be downloaded, and then wait. It takes a few minutes to work, but when it’s done your computer should be virus free.

“It’s not going to threaten individual PC’s,” Johnny 5 said.

Experts worry if enough computers remain infected on April 1st then they could be used by the virus’ creator to work as a group and attack a website.

“Those million computers are all sending signals to that server at the same time, hundreds of thousands of them, as fast as they can, so you have millions of PC’s trying to bring the server to its knees which it does because it can’t handle all the requests,” Johnny 5 said about the virus.

Microsoft is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person that created the virus.