No joke in April Fool's Day computer worm

rookietrucker · Mar 24, 2009

No joke in April Fool's Day computer worm

By John D. Sutter
CNN

(CNN) -- A computer-science detective story is playing out on the Internet as security experts try to hunt down a worm called Conficker C and prevent it from damaging millions of computers on April Fool's Day.
This piece of computer code tells the worm to activate on April 1, 2009, researchers at CA found.

The anti-worm researchers have banded together in a group they call the Conficker Cabal. Members are searching for the malicious software program's author and for ways to do damage control if he or she can't be stopped.

They're motivated in part by a $250,000 bounty from Microsoft and also by what seems to be a sort of Dick Tracy ethic.

"We love catching bad guys," said Alvin Estevez, CEO of Enigma Software Group, which is one of many companies trying to crack Conficker. "We're like former hackers who like to catch other hackers. To us, we get almost a feather in our cap to be able to knock out that worm. We slap each other five when we're killing those infections."

The malicious program already is thought to have infected between 5 million and 10 million computers.

Those infections haven't spawned many symptoms, but on April 1 a master computer is scheduled to gain control of these zombie machines, said Don DeBolt, director of threat research for CA, a New York-based IT and software company.

What happens on April Fool's Day is anyone's guess.

More here>> No joke in April Fool's Day computer worm

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Working Class Patriot · Mar 24, 2009

How do we it's not the anti-worm/anti-virus companies doing this to drum-up the biz?
There was a story about a glass repair shop in London hiring kids to break windows......just saying.....

leannamarie · Mar 25, 2009

Ron-MARS Trucking said: ↑

There was a story about a glass repair shop in London hiring kids to break windows......just saying.....
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A guy in Sacramento was just arrested for the same thing. His glass van was caught on camera after one of the incidents and that led to his arrest. He apparently had a great little racket going.

Working Class Patriot · Mar 25, 2009

leannamarie said: ↑

A guy in Sacramento was just arrested for the same thing. His glass van was caught on camera after one of the incidents and that led to his arrest. He apparently had a great little racket going.
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That reminds me...
About 5 years ago there was a rash of shootings on the 15 between Fontana and Devore.......Same thing, this guy hired kids to shoot windshields out with pellet guns.....IIRC, the cops figured it out after that guy just "always" happened to be in the neighborhood ready to provide his services.

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