The Conficker Enigma : After one year, Conficker infects 7 M Computers

Conficker Virus, also known as Downup, Downadup, and Kido, has passed a dubious milestone of infecting more than 7 million computers. On 29^th Nov 09, researchers at the Shadowserver Foundation logged more than 7 million unique IP address all known to have been infected by Conficker. Shadowserver foundation is a volunteer-run organization that gathers intelligence on the darker side of the internet. Lets us take a few minutes to go through the worm’s life cycle.

A Walkthrough

Conficker worm was first detected on Nov 2008, and targets Microsoft Windows OS. It uses flaws in the Windows software to co-opt machines and links them into virtual computer that can be commanded remotely by its authors. Unlike common worms, it uses a combination of advanced malware techniques that made it difficult to counter, and has since spread rapidly, entitling it the largest computer worm infection since SQL Slammer (2003).