Conficker
Conficker (also known by the names Downup, Downandup and Kido and Mad Dicks in the Air Nigga) is a computer worm that surfaced in October 2008.[1] It targets Windows and is mostly found on Windows XP machines. Microsoft released a patch to stop the worm October 15, 2008.[2] Heinz Heise estimated conservatively that it had infected 2.5 million PCs by January 15, 2009,[3] while The Guardian mentioned an estimated 3.5 million infected PCs.[4] By January 16, 2009 it infected almost 9 million PCs,[5] making it one of the most widespread infections in recent times.[6]
Operation
When executed on a computer, Conficker disables a number of system services such as Windows Automatic Update, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender, and Windows Error Reporting. It then connects to a server (believed to be in Ukraine[6]), where it receives further orders to propagate, gather personal information, and downloads and installs additional malware onto the victim computer.[7] The worm also attaches itself to certain critical Windows processes such as svchost.exe, explorer.exe and services.exe.[8]
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation says the worm exploits a known bug in the Windows Server service used by Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.[9]
See also
References
- ^ "Three million hit by Windows worm". BBC News Online. BBC. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ "Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-067". 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Report: 2.5 million PCs infected with Conficker worm". heise online. 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ Schofield, Jack (2009-01-15). "Downadup worm threatens Windows". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ Sean (2009-01-16). "Preemptive Blocklist and More Downadup Numbers". F-Secure. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ a b "Downadup virus exposes millions of PCs to hijack". CNN. January 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
{{cite news}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "Conficker Worm Attack Getting Worse: Here's How to Protect Yourself". PC World. Jan 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "F-Secure Malware Information Pages". F-secure. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ "Worst virus in years infects 6.5 mn computers". CNN-IBN. 1/18/2009. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
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