Second most dangerous virus?
Romanian firm SOFTWIN has released an update to their BitDefender security suite claiming to have created a vaccination for Conficker.
So what is Conficker?
Fast Stats:
Release Date: October 2008
Target Platform: Windows >= Windows 2000 (including Windows 7 Beta)
Exploited Program: Windows Server
Exploit Type: Buffer overflow
Worm Spread: 15,000,000+ PCs
Actions: Disable Windows Update, Security Center, Error Reporting, and Defender. Connects to a server to receive further instructions.
More Detail:
Part of what makes this worm particularly insidious is how it connects to someplace online to get further instructions. This means that it can actively change to address new desires and problems, as well as communicate with its peers. Microsoft even went so far as to create a specific group to combat this worm, as well as offering a $250000 reward for the capture of the author.
The title of the article comes from the fact that it is ranked second to the SQL Slammer worm of 2003. It has spread to government machines in the UK and Germany (and quite possibly other nations, as well). With so much of the world relying upon computerization these days, viruses sure can be a scary thing!
Source: http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/279991/romanians_find_cure_conficker
Additional Source: Wikipedia