Conficker Worm Date Passes Quietly—So Far

Experts warn megavirus could still pose a serious threat
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2009 1:57 AM CDT
Conficker Worm Date Passes Quietly—So Far
Security experts estimate Conficker has infected 10 million systems.   (©Robert S. Donovan (booleansplit))

The Conficker worm came to life on its April 1 trigger date but failed to cause any major incidents—so far, Infoworld reports. Fears that the internet itself might be affected have yet to materialize, though experts warn that the malware—estimated to be lying in wait in 10 million systems—could still wreak  havoc for PC users, and that its creators may be waiting for IT managers to relax their guard.

Security researchers—still in the dark about the motives of Conficker's creators—say the worm has begun reaching out to command servers as expected, but that those servers aren’t providing malware or new commands. A group of security vendors is working to block Conficker's access to the domains it’s trying to access.
(More Conficker stories.)

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