Vexing computer worm to evolve on April Fool’s Day
| A tenacious computer worm which has wriggled its way onto machines worldwide is set to evolve on April Fool’s Day, becoming harder to exterminate but not expected to wreak havoc.
[…] “There is no evidence of it going into attack mode or dropping any particular payload on April 1st,” Ferguson said in an interview. […] It can infect machines from the Internet or by hiding on USB memory sticks carrying data from one computer to another. Once in a computer it digs deep, setting up defenses that make it hard to extract. […] A troubling aspect of Conficker is that it harnesses computing power of a botnet to crack passwords. Microsoft has modified its free Malicious Software Removal Tool to detect and get rid of Conficker. […] Computer users are advised to stay current on anti-virus tools and Windows updates, and to protect computers and files with strong passwords. Conficker is programmed to reach out to 250 websites daily to download commands from its masters. On Wednesday, the worm will begin connecting with 50,000 websites daily to better hide where orders originate…. […] Among the ways one can tell if their machine is infected is that the worm will block efforts to connect with websites of security firms such as Trend Micro or Symantec where there are online tools for removing the virus. […] Hackers have taken advantage of Conficker hype by using promises of information or cures to lure Internet users to websites booby trapped with malicious software, according to security specialists. |
Get a FREE malware scan now (from Trend Micro)