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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 ANALYSIS 
4

Conficker Worm's Still Out There ... Doing Nothing

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(Newser) – An April Fools information apocalypse did not occur, but the widespread Conficker virus that caused so much fear of is still out there, CNN reports. Experts are puzzled over the lack of an attack, but the sheer size of the Conficker infection—5 million computers—yields a clue. “The more experienced attackers don’t let their viruses or their worms spread this widely,” one says.

Regardless of the effect, the worm— a “botnet” that allows hackers to take control of a group of computers—is a marvel to the computer security industry. “Conficker does stand out as one of those bots that is very large and has been able to sustain itself on the Web,” a researcher says. Adds a consultant: “The hackers never really did much with the botnet that they created. They were almost frightened off doing it.”

A visual representation of an e-mail worm.
A visual representation of an e-mail worm.   (AP Photo)
South Korean computer hackers compete in an information security olympiad.
South Korean computer hackers compete in an information security olympiad.   (AP Photo)
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It's still being tracked, so it is still active out there, but certainly the threat has been mitigated by all of the attention and focus that it has received. - Don DeBolt, CA

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4 comments
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drawjunx
Jul 27, 09 4:19 PM CDT
Skynet... I mean conflicker is just biding it's time. Reply
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2-bits
Jul 27, 09 7:03 PM CDT
I actually think the "experts" in this case are right. Botnets are all about the money, and with one this big he could extort some major bucks. The fact that no new variants have surfaced in a while (or at least have been confirmed by various security agents) suggests to me that the attacker never intended to use it maliciously or has somehow lost control. Of course the world could explode tomorrow and prove me wrong... ;) Reply
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2-bits
Jul 27, 09 7:12 PM CDT
You know what, forget it, be afraid. :)
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Bubblebee
Jul 28, 09 1:27 PM CDT
How do you know if you have the virus on your computer? And if so how do you get rid of it? Reply
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