Analysts expect Conficker virus activation
Security watchers are bracing themselves to respond to the activitation of the huge botnet created by the Conficker superworm. The malware has created a network of infected PCs under its control estimated at 9m or even more, according to the latest estimates — dwarfing the zombie army created by the infamous Storm worm, which reached a comparatively paltry 1m at its peak in September 2007. Variants of Conficker (aka Downadup), which began circulating in late November, exploit the MS08-067 vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows server service addressed by Redmond with an out-of-sequence patch last October. The malware also infects removable devices and network shares using a special autorun file. The worm uses social engineering trickery so that users on Windows machines looking to simply browse the contents of a memory stick may be tricked into selecting an option that actually runs a malware payload and infects their PC.
Conficker infections have been detected in more than 80 countries with Spain, the USA, Taiwan and Brazil most hit, according to anti-virus firm Panda Security. One in 14 (six per cent) of 2m machines submitted to Panda’s online scanner are affected by the worm. This, of course, represents a sample of PCs where the owners have reason to think something might be wrong and so may not be representative of the internet at large. Nonetheless, it’s a huge figure. The worm is confirmed to have hit a Sheffield hospital and is suspected of infecting UK Ministry of Defence systems, including local area networks on warships. Security watchers reckon that the more open nature of public-facing organisations explains why these attacks have hit the press. There’s no reason to suspect that private sector firms are any better protected against such attacks, as previous worm spreads have demonstrated time and again.
Source: The Register
Comments(55)
so whos got worms?
I remember reading somewhere that if your windows keep on updating you dont have it.
So this is what happen to the site :p
thank god, i have a mac.
Whos got worms is never alone!
I have a theory.
Why do viruses continue to popup every day? Why aren't the feds tracking down the people who write the viruses? Why do we have even have to have anti-virus software? Why continue to update Windows? Because it's all one big scam. Microsoft secretly partners with the US government and companies like Norton, to ensure that viruses are continually pumped out and released to the public. The forces people to buy anti-virus products or update their systems giving those companies even more control over your computer.
These super worms are always making the news, yet I've never encountered even one of them. And I never update Windows.
/end of theory
@ChinLeeSungHoManCheWonLeWang
you are an idiot, think about it
ChinLeeSungHoManCheWonLeWang (post 7)
I like your theory, I also feel that computers are getting more and more monitor as well as what we are doing with it…
That's why as Mr Linux I think the best way to fight again these crap is to progressively turn into Linux (ubuntu for example) the only problem Microsoft have huge contract with all manufacturers. Another problem for people who wants to switch with another OS is compatibility (i doubt that a remote control on a laptop will work on Ubuntu but i hope i'm wrong and there is probably a way to fix that problem with a bit of research)
It's kind of off topic but it is linked anyway to the 2 previous comment
@7 Tbh I thought it was widely known that companies like norton and kapersky (i know form first hand sources about kapersky) (sp) etc do hire hackers to create viruses so that they have the most up to date and "seemingly" best virus protection software…
The more viruses they get people to put out… the bigger and better their software appears to be the the public.
@Mr Linux
Yeah good Idea not, you do know why MS are targeted right it's becuase the majority of systems use windows, so if everyone moved to linux or OSX they would then be the target.
Screwed if you do screwed if you don't.
Personally I would rather stick with a company that does not over charge just becuase it has the apple logo on the case.
Linux ftw. Frak you all.
just another reason to switch to Linux.
Glad I am on a Mac, which incidentally are also PC's. Are they not to be considered personal computers simply because they utilize a different OS? Why should they be judged by the brand of their OS?
Wow way to know the history of the "PC" (and I am not talking about "windows machines", think IBM).
And that is why you are a Mac user….
ubuntu wont help you idiots. it will just make it harder for you to fight virii because you have no idea what you are doing, not to mention that ubuntu is dumbed down
i had some viruses on my autoruns so i assume that this is why. avg took care of it though
These bot nets are mainly for spam email aren't they? Then they'd get their revenue from the websites that 'advertise' using them. E.g. all the fake and 'illegal' stuff you get in your inbox daily.
@16:FYI, I used a windows computer for 8 years, and studied how to repair and troubleshoot them in college. And that is why I use a Mac.
You seem to not be aware of the staggering lack of viruses for Linux.
So in a way Ubuntu (which is Linux) will help as it will not be prone to a massive number of attacks that Windows is.
Y'all are just a bunch-o-morons, if y'all think that this is a big conspiracy theory, like in that movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory
BTW If Linux had so many users as windows has now, don't you think that there would be a lot a viruses and fixes and stuff exactly like windows now?
Why Linux isn't so popular as windows now?? because its more difficult to install,use,work,etc,etc. Linux doesn't "accept" morons.
will it get me even if i'm behind a nat router?
once all hardware is accepted by other os's i'd switch, but the truth is free operating systems are great, but if you want choice and you dont want over priced crap (macbook pro is a great machine, but way overpriced)then you use windows. i will never use serato/final scratch and theres no other time coded setup, to my knowledge that will run on mac or linux (traktor might, havent looked at that in a while).
macs are for rich idiots
linux are for advanced users with to much free time
windows is vulnerable, but compatible
sooner or later linux will be the one, but until companies stop wanting to make mac and windows happy and start making us happy were screwed.
we pay the price so our children or grandchildren can have open source
I love the complete lack of knowledge that the rlslog userbase shares.
It makes for some good laughs.
@27:Macs are for rich idiots, eh? Then explain how I, someone who has a crap job and very little money is able to own one?
@GenericMacFan
because you suck penor for mac money, douche.
Because you still live with your parents.
Linux allows you to look at the source. Vulnerabilities are visible to all and are usually fixed quicker rather than hidden due to the quantity of 'eyes' looking at the code.
@26 is right about most of the comments though
"studied how to repair and troubleshoot them in college"
what like an intro class? You use a MAC because you learned how to repair PC's in college?
Did you take any logic classes?
Just try double clicking an .exe file on a Linux box and see what it does…. http://www.99main.com/~turtleg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhe9iZg5pxg&feature=channel_page
When was the last time you used Linux?
@28:Was that really necessary?
@29:As a matter of fact, I don't. I don't know how you can make that assumption. And even if I did, my parents wouldn't buy something such as an expensive computer for me.
@31:I use a Mac because I learned through experience and education how unreliable they can be. No not an intro class. That was my major.
Sheesh people need to quit making assumptions about someone who they know nothing about. Learning civility and tact are also useful skills as well.
"I use a Mac because I learned through experience and education how unreliable they can be."
lulz?…..
Your major was "troubleshooting and fixing PC's"? Really? Never heard of that one…..
We know plenty about you, you claim that you use a Mac, because that way you don't get viruses/worms. In other words, you are either a) to dumb to know how to avoid getting said viruses/worms or b) too lazy to put what you learned into practice or just c) (see number 28)
Yes. It's called PC Troubleshooting and Repair.
That'a not a claim. It's a true statement. Which part of "I used a windows computer for 8 years" did you not understand? Through all of those years I have never had a single virus, adware, spyware, or malware. Virus protection is not something to be laughed at.
And how can you discern from that information my living situation and any other assumption you have made regarding my lifestyle?
"It's called PC Troubleshooting and Repair."
a major, as in, you got a degree in "PC troubleshooting and Repair"?
You never had any viruses, etc. Then, how was your PC unreliable? …. oops
The laughing was at your first statement (good choice of words), which apparently you failed to read (twice now).
"And how can you discern from that information my living situation and any other assumption you have made regarding my lifestyle?"
Well let's think here, if I came on a random blog (read by mostly tech savvy people) and said in the comments "hey guys I bought a pre-made computer with mediocre performance for only $3,000!" I wouldn't expect them to say "gee-golly that's swell"…. Did you?
Geez, people give the guy a break. He might be an idiot, but that give you no reason to jump over him and generally act like douches.
Yes, give me a break, I might be an idiot…
Like I said, douche.
Wait, we are douches because #28 called him a douche? But you just called "us" a douche, so doesn't that (by your definition) make you a douche as well?
Anyone have an RS link? I want to be part of the zombie army!
I work in the IT department of a hospital with over 200 servers and 2000 workstations onsite, and we got hit with this just over 2 weeks ago. We are still fighting it. We've had to make major security changes on our network, and our desktop support technicians have had to touch almost everyone of these PCs. We are down to the last few, but what a mess it has been.
I need a new Mac… anyone want a BJ for $5?
kaspersky viruslist has named this threat as Net-Worm.Win32.Kido ,multiple variants of Kido, a polymorphic worm – Net-Worm.Win32.Kido.bt, Net-Worm.Win32.Kido.dv and Net-Worm.Win32.Kido.fx .The worm disables system restore, blocks access to security websites, and downloads additional malware to infected machines.
A patch for the vulnerability is available from Microsoft – http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx
removal tool is available from kaspersky – http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208279973
Macs Rule! Have it windoze
IF some ppl would just use the freaking brain and not just click on everything that comes there way, Internet and computers would be soooooo mutch more happy!!!! 97-09 still not a singel virus! my dad got atleast 2 a month untile i forced him to use firefox + noscipt and NOT TO CLICK YES ;/
#12
Ehm.. the reason why you don't get virus in linux, and still won't if everyone switched to it, is because the source code is public available, so everyone in the whole world can look for security holes and fix them. but microsoft… they have a small team of developers wich are the only ones with access to the code, so it's alot harder to fix security holes.
The payload from this worm is laughable, I've personally had to deal with much worse. You have all these security firms and Government agencies running around complaining that they've been infected with this, yet at the same time the most common Anti-Virus software can easily detect and delete it.
The only thing that has made this worm popular are the people giving it a name and the amount of computers it has "infected". Also, supposedly it disables you from you from going to any security website, if you keep up to date with your software updates then I see no real need to actually visit any website once you've been "infected", from that point on It's mainly about using the programs that you have.
As far as I know, it doesn't disable your software like others that I've encountered, so I personally wouldn't worry too much. This worm will come and go like many others, with barely any damage done at all.
d3.
One major reason for viruses etc spreading through M$ machines is, because they all share the same code, in the other hand linux releases are all more ore less different from within. So a virus written for ubuntu (for example) might not "work" in a Fedora or Slack box… This is why it's harder to spread malware through linux community.
Just my point of view… No facts, just my mind put to it.
@12
you got your facts wrong(which sadly most of the blindfolded people have). Majority of the corporations have some sort of linux distro running their power/resource hogging tasks. the 3 main reasons linux wouldnt be easily targeted/infected if people switched over, are. #1. linux based OS's are way more customizable than windows I.E. the core of the system itself varies ALOT when you compare 2 different distros/companies/users etc. etc. installations, not to mention the way people compile theyr linux with the different packs also affect the core of the OS. #2 different distros use different commandlines or the user can also change the command lines. #3 The chance of getting an infection on linux is way lower since you can manually connect to the update servers and force a download for the OS. not to mention Linux's mountpoints can be easily customized making it even harder to write a code that infects a larger than a thousand or as low as hundred PC's and leave the rest uninfected.
The reason that M$ is getting all the crap is simple. the OS cant be customized as easily(apart from some graphics details). The Os is full off vulnerabilities because they do not have a huge developer community, which is also making the progress speed of the OS development slow. Also the M$ is reluctant in sharing the key pieces of the OS's code to the third party program developers I.E. anti virus, media program and firewall program developers. Then the worst part. as they have developed their OS's the latest 3 show a decrease in accessibility for the user interface for a regular user, Making it harder to customize with each new generation. XP was still ok and i am still using it for the pure efficiency and security reasons. Vista started to make me vomit for the sheer fact customizing it was no where nearly as enjoyable as customizing XP not to mention you had next to none possibility to customize it. and Win7. works better than vista i give it that. but when you try to customize it to server your needs it treats you like a handicapped person and gives you no choice what so ever to customize the OS the way you want. instead it slaps some preset themes and GUI options.
I am a system admin for a school district and we had new windows updates and this worm still got buy us. We have had it for a while and it has been dormant. Last Wednesday we had a planned power outage that was going to last longer than our backups could run, so we had to shut everything down. This is when stuff started happening. When we started turning all our equipment back on Last Thursday we started noticing a slow down in network traffic, then over the past weekend it pretty much took our network down by just propagating. When you try to locate the file it acts like it knows that it has been found, changes name and moves. Absolutely insane. The virus blocked our connection to Microsoft.com so when they released a new security update we could not fetch it.
I have never had my ass kicked so much by something so small. It was one long week.
PUH-LEAZE, you mac/linux fanbots are just fooling yourselves. So Mac does not have any Viruses huh? Explain these viruses EXCLUSIVLY for the MAC Os found just this year?
Cybercriminals targeted Mac and PC users in equal measure, by planting poisoned adverts on TV-related websites. If accessed via an Apple Mac, surfers would be attacked by a piece of Macintosh scareware called MacSweeper.
In June, the OSX/Hovdy-A Trojan horse was discovered that could steal passwords from Mac OS X users, open the firewall to give access to hackers, and disable security settings.
Troj/RKOSX-A was discovered – a Mac OS X tool to assist hackers create backdoor Trojans, which can give them access and control over your Apple Mac computer.
In November, Sophos warned of the Jahlav Trojan, and Apple issued a support advisory urging customers to run anti-virus software.
And Linux is not any better in fact even Kaspersky has stated:Kaspersky: Mac and Linux viruses to rise ’significantly … Kaspersky also goes on to list other platforms, such as PlayStation 3 and … Just how would Mac and Linux users feel about having to buy security software …
blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=376 – 97k
So pull your head out of your arses…you are NOT safe just because you run an OS different from Windows
by definition a worm is a very basic lifeform.
if your human and a WORM OWNS YOU… consider education. suicide. whatever suits.
or a plastic surgery to make you more worm-form.(maybe you become friends?)
or simply buy an ape and a bird.
the ape can make you look smart, the bird can eat the worm.
bleh. be happy those ppl dont make things that overload your pc powersupply or something else. be happy.
not happy? .. be jealous .. to all those smart a*** like me, that just dont get infected lol.
@53
as i stated in my post, infecting linux is hard not to mention almost everyone who uses linux still runs antivirus and firewall programs, you need to get your head out of your ass and realize that a virus for linux simply is a failure, why? read my post, i explained it there why it is hard for a linux virus to survive/propagate. And yes we are safe just becouse we are running an OS different from windows
BTW we dont have to buy antivirus XD most of the free ones are on par with the commercial ones, some even surpass them.