Users and experts braced for Conficker action
Published: 31 Mar 2009 18:01 BST
Estimates of the infection rate vary from one million to 15 million. It has had three upgrades, each tougher than the last. It is highly sophisticated — and it is poised for action, as millions of copies of Conficker are set to contact the worm's creators for further instructions on 1 April.
But nobody knows what the Conficker worm will actually do on that date — if, in fact, it does anything.
Conficker malware poses as antivirus software
In addition to dropping a mystery payload on infected machines, the Conficker worm installs software that tries to dupe people into paying nearly £35 for fake antivirus software [14 Apr 2009]
Conficker wakes up, updates itself over P2P
The worm that was expected to activate on 1 April started to update itself on Wednesday using peer-to-peer, according to security companies [09 Apr 2009]
Conficker worm fails to wreak predicted havoc
Security researchers say the date set for the Conficker C update may have been an April Fool's joke, but warn of the potential for the infected machines to still become a botnet [02 Apr 2009]
[01 Jan 1970]
Parliament PCs struck by Downadup virus
Engineers at Westminster are working to clean up computer systems that have been infected by the virus, also known as Conficker [30 Mar 2009]
Why you should care about the Conficker worm
The worm's latest variant is set to start hitting random domains on 1 April, although security experts say the damage might not be as serious as the hype suggests [27 Mar 2009]
Downadup heading for April Fool's mayhem
The worm blocks access to protective services, downloads a Trojan and is programmed to seek out 50,000 domains on 1 April, as the authors of the worm try to outsmart security vendors [16 Mar 2009]
Latest variant of Downadup worm circulating
A new variant of the Downadup web worm opens a backdoor on infected machines that an attacker could use to install malicious programs [24 Feb 2009]
Microsoft offers $250k bounty for Downadup arrest
The software giant is offering a reward for arrest and conviction related to the internet worm that spreads via Windows hole, USB drives and network shares [13 Feb 2009]
DNS service tracks Downadup infections
OpenDNS has launched a service designed to help network administrators spot and remove infections by the widespread worm, also known as Conficker [10 Feb 2009]
Experts: Microsoft's advice won't stop Downadup
The US-Cert team has criticised Microsoft's suggestion to disable AutoRun, saying it will not halt the fast-spreading worm [23 Jan 2009]
Downadup virus hits PCs at five Sheffield hospitals
Three weeks after it hit, engineers are still clearing up the 'last remnants' of the virus that infected computers at five Sheffield hospitals [22 Jan 2009]
Downadup worm infects 3.5m PCs
Security company F-Secure has warned of a potential 'big badass botnet', as the Microsoft-flaw-exploiting Downadup worm swiftly spreads [15 Jan 2009]
Microsoft server worm can spread via USB
A Windows Server worm that is attacking business systems also propagates via USB, says F-Secure [08 Jan 2009]
Worm surge exploits Microsoft vulnerability
A surge in worm activity for a patched Microsoft flaw means IT professionals need to apply the update, says F-Secure [07 Jan 2009]
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