iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre and Emirates Red Crescent will hold fundraising initiatives to finance BMT procedures for patients in need
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Conficker worm digs in around the world
SAN FRANCISCO - Computer security top guns around the world watched warily as the dreaded Conficker worm squirmed deeper into infected machines with the arrival of an April 1st trigger date.
The malicious software evolved, as expected, from East to West, beginning in time zones first to greet April Fool’s Day.
“Planes are not going to fall out of the sky and the Internet is not going to melt down,” said threat analyst Paul Ferguson of Trend Micro computer security firm in Northern California.
“The big mystery is what those behind Conficker are going to do. When they have this many machines under their control it is kind of scary. With a click of a mouse they could get thousands of machines to do whatever they want.”
A task force assembled by Microsoft has been working to stamp out the worm, referred to as Conficker or DownAdUP, and the US software colossus has placed a bounty of 250,000 dollars on the heads of those responsible for the threat.
The worm was programmed to modify itself on Wednesday to become harder to stop and began doing that when infected machines got cues, some from websites with Greenwich Mean Time and others based on local clocks.
Conficker task force members tracking Internet traffic in Asia and Europe after clocks struck April 1st there said there was no sign that the worm was doing anything other than modifying itself to be harder to exterminate.
Conficker had been programmed to reach out to 250 websites daily to download commands from its masters, they said, but on Wednesday it began generating daily lists of 50,000 websites and reaching randomly to 500 of those.
The hackers behind the worm have yet to give it any specific orders. An estimated one to two million computers worldwide are infected with Conficker.
Computer security specialists warn that the Conficker threat will remain even if April 1st passes without it causing trouble.
“It doesn’t seem to be doing anything right now,” Ferguson said as Conficker made its way to the western United States.
“I hope April 1st comes and goes with no trouble. But, there is this loaded pistol looming large out there even if no one has pulled the trigger.”
More news from
The summit is set to feature a range of engaging and fruitful networking opportunities, as well as fascinating panel discussions
The former Indian bowler also saluted the batter for fighting depression and making his way back into mainstream cricket
The 21-year-old forward is enjoying a breakthrough season following his surprise move from City on transfer deadline day in September
To assist Indian nationals at the Dubai airport, the Consulate General of India in Dubai has operationalised emergency helpline numbers
The Argentine goalkeeper made the save that sent his side through to their first major European semi-final since 1982 after penalty chaos against Lille
After the evacuation, an area was set up to provide food, water, and medical assistance to the citizens residing in the community
The Red beat Italian side Atalanta in the second leg quarter-final but lost 3-1 on aggregate as Leverkusen advance to semis despite 1-1 draw with West Ham
