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"60 Minutes" freaks out over Conficker. Where's John Hodgman when you need him?
,----[ Quote ]
| FirefoxScreenSnapz031I love "60 Minutes," but sometimes it just makes you
| scratch your head. Isn't anyone working there who has any sophistication when
| it comes to technology? Lesley Stahl just finished a 15-minute freakout on
| the dangers of the Conficker virus, dangers which many information experts
| say have been blown way out of proportion ... especially by reports like the
| one that just aired on "60 Minutes." The segment producer would have done
| well to read the much less hysterical Conficker FAQ from CNet ... that's now
| appearing on the "60 Minutes" Conficker's story page. (CBS owns CNet.)
`----
http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2009/03/60-minutes-freaks-out-over-conficker-wheres-john-hodgman-when-you-need-him.html
Busted! Conficker's tell-tale heart uncovered
,----[ Quote ]
| Security experts have made a breakthrough in their five-month battle against
| the Conficker worm, with the discovery that the malware leaves a fingerprint
| on infected machines that is easy to detect using a variety of off-the-shelf
| network scanners.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/30/conficker_signature_discovery/
Brace Yourself: DDoS Attacks Ahead
,----[ Quote ]
| In 2009, the crème de la crème of Web sites are still vulnerable to DDoS
| (distributed denial of service) attacks. Indeed, entire countries, such as
| Estonia, have had their Internet capabilities crippled by DDoS attacks.
| Chances are decent we’ll all get to see a massive DDoS sometime on, or after,
| April 1st, when the hundreds of thousands of Conficker-infected zombied
| Windows PCs are put to work.
`----
http://practical-tech.com/network/brace-yourself-ddos-attacks-ahead/
100% cure for Conficker
,----[ Quote ]
| The sad truth is no matter what you do with Windows, whether you're running
| XP, Vista, or the Windows 7 beta, you're not safe. Now, however there's a
| patch that will stop Conficker, and almost all other malware programs, in
| their tracks. It's called Linux.
`----
http://blogs.computerworld.com/100_cure_for_conficker
Recent:
Final countdown to Conficker 'activation' begins
,----[ Quote ]
| Starting on 1 April, Windows PCs infected by the latest variant of the
| Conficker worm (Conficker-C) will start attempting to contact a sample of
| 50,000 pre-programmed potential call-home web servers from which they might
| receive updates, a massive increase on the 250 potential web server locales
| used by earlier variants of the code.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/26/conficker_activation_analysis/
Free tool to capture Conficker scans and probes
,----[ Quote ]
| To help companies detect Conficker scans and probes on their networks,
| MicroSolved is offering a free tool - a Linux-only HoneyPoint GUI. You can
| download the zip file from here.
`----
http://www.itworld.com/security/65031/free-tool-capture-conflicker-scans-and-probes
Conficker: The Windows Worm That Won't Go Away
,----[ Quote ]
| The Conficker worm continues to slither its way across the Internet, and a
| major update for the malware is looming on April 1. Just what will happen is
| anyone's guess, security researchers say, but there are malware removal tools
| and protections out there for users.
`----
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Conficker-The-Windows-Worm-That-Wont-Go-Away-529249/
Conficker and the botnet threat
,----[ Quote ]
| An extraordinary behind-the-scenes struggle is taking place between computer
| security groups around the world and the brazen author of a malicious
| software program called Conficker.
`----
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2009/03/22/2003439063
The Conficker Worm: April Fool’s Joke or Unthinkable Disaster?
,----[ Quote ]
| Conficker is a program that is spread by exploiting several weaknesses in
| Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Various versions of the software have
| spread widely around the globe since October, mostly outside the United
| States because there are more computers overseas running unpatched, pirated
| Windows. (The program does not infect Macintosh or Linux-based computers.)
|
| An estimated 12 million or more machines have been infected. However, many
| have also been disinfected, so a precise census is difficult to obtain.
`----
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/the-conficker-worm-april-fools-joke-or-unthinkable-disaster/
Got pwned by Conficker.B - Fought back & won
,----[ Quote ]
| Our WinXP lappy (used for business & personal) was infected by
| Conficker.B, rendering it a zombie-bot tethered to a botnet somewhere.
| In the end, the OS is replaced with Linux & the data are preserved.
| Complete functionality is restored... All while on the road.
|
| [...]
|
| After about a day and a half, I gave up trying to save the system and
| decided to try to /replace/ it. I began by using my Nokia N810
| (linux-based internet tablet[3]) to download onto its flash card:
|
| - unetbootin[4] and
| - the iso for gOS 3.1[5].
|
| I put the card into a usb reader and plugged it back into the infected
| lappy. Then, I:
|
| - loaded and ran unetbootin & gOS iso,
| - manually created some partitions via the gOS install,
| - installed gOS (applied patches, etc)
| - moved data from NTFS to ext3 partition
| - removed NTFS partition.
|
| At that point, we had a (trusted) computer with networking, productivity
| apps and our data again. The process (excluding download time) took
| about four hours.
`----
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.comp.freeware/msg/5d33c17417942d28
Conficker update calls home more stealthily
,----[ Quote ]
| A new version of the Conficker (aka Downadup) worm is working around attempts
| to stifle its activity by dramatically increasing the number of domain names
| used to call home for fresh instructions.
`----
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/23813/1054/
Conficker gets upgraded with defenses
,----[ Quote ]
| Researchers at Symantec have discovered what could be a significant
| development in the ongoing Conficker worm saga: a new module that is being
| pushed out to some infected systems.
|
| In a couple of ways, the new component is designed to harden infected
| machines against an industry consortium that is actively trying to contain
| the prolific worm. For one, the update targets antivirus software and
| security analysis tools to prevent them from removing the malware. Not only
| does it try to disable anti-malware titles, it also goes after programs such
| as Wireshark and regmon.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/07/conficker_upgrade/
Conficker Worm Strikes Back With New Variant
,----[ Quote ]
| The Conficker/Downadup worm managed to slither onto millions of PCs worldwide
| at its height, but after it initially infected a computer it only really
| acted to spread itself, and didn't cause further harm. Until now.
|
| Symantec reports today that it has found a new variant of the virulent worm
| that will identify antivirus software or security analysis tools running on
| the infected PC, and attempt to shut down those programs. This is a strong
| signal that the worm's mysterious creators haven't abandoned their creation
| in the face of worldwide attention, as some in the industry have theorized,
| but may still have plans to make a buck off their work.
`----
http://www.pcworld.com/article/160854/confickervariant.html?tk=rss_news
Conficker may bring commercial web sites to their knees
,----[ Quote ]
| One of the most notorious pieces of recent malware is set to cause collateral
| damage to commercial web sites.
|
| [...]
|
| In practice, security researchers are able to analyse this function as easily
| as any other. And a coalition of ISPs and other players has been registering
| the domains Conficker will try to use before the worm's backers can get hold
| of them.
`----
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/23538/1054/
Virus strikes 15 million PCs
,----[ Quote ]
| A virulent computer virus has infected as many as 15 million computers around
| the world so far, according to various estimates.
|
| The virus -- a self-replicating computer worm known as Downadup, Conficker or
| Kido -- spreads across computer networks using Microsoft Windows software
| which have not been patched or updated properly. Microsoft issued a patch
| that fixes the vulnerability the virus exploits last October.
`----
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/26/Virus_strikes_15_million_PCs/UPI-19421232924206/
Windows worm: Security experts waiting for activation of 'botnet'
,----[ Quote ]
| Computer experts are preparing to respond to further virus outbreaks and
| security threats posed by the Windows worm, known as Conficker, Kido and
| Downadup, which has infected more than 15 million PCs worldwide.
`----
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/microsoft/4345295/Windows-worm-Security-experts-waiting-for-activation-of-botnet.html
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