1. CODE RED is not an email worm. Your email is not a target.
2. CODE RED is targeted primarily at Servers - like those your ISP uses,
or servers run in a network environment (such as an office or home network connected to the internet)
The specific server software is IIS
3. If your operating system is Windows 95, Macintosh, Windows 98 or ME,
You are NOT at risk,
4. If you run a home network, using Windows 2000 or Windows NT you should check the following links to
determine whether or not you are at risk. Microsoft's description of the patch and its installation, and
the vulnerability it addresses is posted at:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-033.asp
What To Do If You Are Vulnerable?
a. To rid your machine of the current worm, reboot your computer.
b. To protect your system from re-infection:
Install Microsoft's patch for the Code Red vulnerability problem:
- - Windows NT version 4.0:
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.asp?ReleaseID=30833
- - Windows 2000 Professional, Server and Advanced Server:
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/Release.asp?ReleaseID=30800
Step-by-step instructions for these actions are posted at
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/itsolutions/security/topics/codeptch.asp
5. CODE RED scans the internet looking for vulnerable servers. When it finds one, it installs itself and in simple terms uses that system to scan for more vulnerable systems. This creates a domino effect as more systems become infected. The main impact most of us can expect from this virus is NOT that it will infect our own computers, but that the traffic the scanning creates will slow down the internet and create bottlenecks which may result in access problems all over the world.