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Conficker Worm Springs Into Action

Mysterious update begins to spread; millions vulnerable

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 9, 2009 7:04 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Conficker worm is showing signs of life a week later than expected, but experts aren’t quite sure what it’s doing, the BBC reports. The program, believed to be on millions of PCs worldwide, began updating itself last night, downloading encrypted software, researchers at Trend Micro found. The worm’s peer-to-peer communications are “now running in full swing,” warned a tech blogger.

To keep things quiet, the update’s spread will be gradual, the BBC says. Once it’s on a machine, it checks that its host is still connected to the Internet, then removes evidence that it’s been installed. Its encryption has prevented experts from deducing exactly what Conficker will do, but they expect it to be able to pull data such as bank log-in information.

The Conficker worm is waking up a week later than expected. (Shutterstock)

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Conficker Worm Springs Into Action

Mysterious update begins to spread; millions vulnerable

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Conficker Worm Springs Into Action

Mysterious update begins to spread; millions vulnerable

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

computer virus • malware • computer • Conficker

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Experts Find Key Internet Encryption Flaw

Small but significant number of cases vulnerable

Facebook Virus Gang Living in Luxury

Koobface Gang not bothering to hide their identities, location

Facebook Closes 45K Accounts to Stop 'Worm'

Ramnit worm steals login info, spreads nasty links

New Virus Hacks Your Bank Account, Covers Tracks

'SpyEye Trojan' helps thieves go undetected

Millions of Printers in Danger of Being Hacked

Researchers call it a major vulnerability: MSNBC

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?